>>Waldemar, You said "reputable breeder".  Sue Cobey who is the developer of NWC only sells breeder queens to 6 breeders, hand selected by her for their knowledge and integrity.

I like Sue Colby's NWCs and I have deep respect for Sue Colby (she has answered all my questions very frankly in the past).  I think her selection program is excellent.

This may be the odd year in all respects!  I will not drop names here but the queen was from one of the 6 breeders (they advertise as a member of the NWC project in major beekeeping magazines).  I had very good success with queens from them last year but I could not believe the size of the queen they send me a few weeks ago.  I asked if they had a 'minimum queen size spec' that they adhere to and have yet to get an answer.

I also heard of a local beekeeper who had received 50 queens from the same source and half of them are poor performers.  Perhaps the breeder treated the colonies with Check-Mite affecting the young queens - I have no idea.  In the past, they've said they would only use Apistan as needed.

>>I doubt that tour "reputable breeder" was a licensed breeder for NWC,
and if they are, you should report your problem to Sue Cobey.

I will give the breeder another chance to redeem themselves and, maybe, then contact Sue.  Like I said, this may be the odd year.  Last year, the breeder stood behind his queens.

>>look for the real expert, knowledgeable breeders, and we beekeepers  will be so much better off.  I doubt that I will live that long, but who knows?

I agree.  It would be nice to have a Consumer Reports of sorts for honeybee queens. :)  As a very average beekeeper, I can only go by what I read in magazines and by word of mouth from local beekeepers.

Best regards,

Waldemar

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