Nick good luck at changing our import regulations.  It may be that
the GATT treaty will change things, but US beauracracy is getting
huge, and that means tremendous inertia.  Even the USDA Bee labs
desiring to help by the importation of mite-resistant bees for breeding
had to jump through a number of hoops and then had to just distribute
the subsequent generations, not the queens themselves.  It would be
interesting to see an article on the whole story.
 
As to the queens themselves and what makes a good one, it depends on a lot o
lot of things.  On Long Island, east of New York City, Our honey flow is
over by July 4th weekend.  From then on they just get enough to survive
and hopefully enough to overwinter.  The Buckfast queens have typically
been too slow to build up in the spring here.  My beekeeping friends in
Pennsylvania love them though because their flow is summer and fall.
 
With the fear of mites, we tried to close Long Island to all importation
of bees and queens several years ago.  New York State refused our
arguments that we could become an isolated queen breeding area.  We
suggested that no bees be brought in from continental US.  We started
using Kona queens from Hawaii.  Our experience has not been good.
Two out of three hives replace her within a month.  This is the
experience of a number of beekeepers within the club.  Many rated
Master Beekeepers by the EAS training and testing program based upon
Cornell developed standards.
 
I agree with an earlier writer who said that the best queen is a local,
one that has been shown to match the local cycle for brood rearing.
Yesterday we had a meeting of the club adn talked again of queens, mites,
and sources.  The conclusion: manage the overwintered hives for quick
build-up, raise your own or buy locally and split late (June) for next
year.  If you need to start hives, import Hawaii queens, put in small
nucs to get them laying, don't put them in a going colony.
 
We talked about the Yugoslavian mit-resistant queens and the Steve Tabor
mite resistant queens but the feeling was that the areas they were
coming from deffinitly have mites.  Not all areas of LI have mites.
Why invite trouble?
 
I see I've gotten wordy.  Good beekeeping everyone!  And remember, after
you've read all of those books, BEES DON'T READ!
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+    Raymond J. Lackey                                     +
+    Beekeeper 10 years with 25 colonies on Long Island, NY+
+    INTERNET: [log in to unmask]                       +
+    Mail: 1260 Walnut Avenue, Bohemia NY 11617            +
+    Home Phone: 516-567-1936  FAX: 516-262-8053           +
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