Hi Waldemar

Sorry for the delay in replying - we are in a heatwave with temperatures up 
to 31C yesterday (one extreme to the other!), the honey is pouring in and we 
have run out of all spare equipment - but we are not complaining after the 
disastrous May.  Being inland there are no cooling breezes and it is a 
killer working in the middle of the day at present.
5 tonnes from 100 colonies is pretty good in my book, but Eastern Europe is 
noted for good beekeeping country - and some good bees.
I used to move bees for pollination but decided that it was just not worth 
the effort as it usually means losing crop that I would have had locally if 
I had not moved them.  The only migration now is 36 colonies (a trailer 
load) to the heather moors in August when everything is just about finished 
round here - and with diesel at virtually £1 a litre that is beginning to 
look at lot less attractive as the heather site is 160 miles away.
We have just started a bee improvement group and are working at assessing 
colonies to select breeders.  This has added to an already heavy workload, 
but I am sure that it will pay dividends.   It has been interesting to show 
beginners the differences between colonies - some docile, some not - some 
quiet on the comb, some runners - some that follow for 100 yards or more, 
some that do not bother you even when working the colony - some piled high 
with honey, some that are (as Sue Cobey called them) just 'Welfare bees'.
I would have thought that A.m.m. would do well in your more northern states 
but, like all bees, there are good and bad strains - you have to start with 
good stock.  Then the problem is keeping them reasonably pure.  If you have 
A.m.m. and youtr neighbour has Italians then it is quite possible that your 
will end up with bees that resemble AHB!

Best wishes

Peter Edwards
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www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/ 

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