> The Buckfast Bee has a reputation for producing a very cross cross.
Well Chris, it seems your statement about Buckfast bees rely on
hearsay. After 20 years of using them I have the opposite experience.
I have crossed Buckfast with different races and personally seen the
result with hundreds of colonies.
It also seems many UK beekeepers engage in dissing one of the greatest
bee breeders we had, instead of being proud of him. Can't figure that
one out....
> The last time I was at Buckfast Abbey and saw bees working the garden
> flowers they seemed to be a good mix of colours so I suspect that
> they don't have Buckfast at Buckfast.
I'm afraid you haven't taken the time to learn what Buckfast bees
really are. They are a mix of different races from the beginning.
Those different races are kept at the Abbey and crossed with each
other for evaluating the resulting offspring. When progress is made
the *stable* cross is included into one of the main lines and used in
apiaries around the world. So a mixed population at the Abbey would
indicate that the work continues in good order. The genetic diversity
is the key to Buckfast Bees, enhancing vigour and reducing the chance
of inbreeding.
Regards
P-O
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm