I tried some Russian hybrids this year (and 2 highly bred Russians last
year ), and noticed they were highly inclined to supercede, no matter what.
Problem was, all of my Russian hybrid queens this year (4) gave up the
ghost, and no new, viable queens took their place.  All seemed to occur at
the end of the season.  Worse, I could not successfully requeen ($54 flushed
down the terlet).  End result:   4 queenless hives in fall, higher than
normal harvest for those hives :).  This may not be normal, but it was my
(frustrating) experience this year.

Also, they seem highly prone to propolize the hell out of everything around
them.  I have one hive that became so glued together I wound up pulling a
frame apart trying to pry it out of a deep.  Copious quantities of very
gooey, stickey propolis.  Very annoying.

Caveat here:  I have not tried Russians in any real numbers, and only two
years back to back.  I'll probably try them again next year and see what
happens.  Also, we had very nasty weather patterns first half of the
summer - lots of rain.  Lastly, the original queens this year were in nucs,
so I have no way of knowing their age when installed.

So far, I am not impressed with Russians as opposed to Carniolans.  Assuming
one can keep mites at bay (probably fall/spring treatments), my (fairly
short) experience tells me to stick with Carnies.


Regards,

Todd.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::