am i correct in thinking that it was much admired by Brother Adam and as such its material was used by him in the Buckfast breeding program ?
Yes they are an important part of the Buckfast, i also have a few of them.
Very much depends on what part they come from and how pure though.
This is some of what BA wrote about them.
One thing he mentions is that the Anatolians seem superior to all other races as far as wintering goes, and in the cold winter of 1962/63 the coldest in the south west of England since 1750, he wintered nuclei of pure central Anatolian bees, up in the middle of Dartmoor, in nucs with only four combs with complete success,a feat which seemed scarcely possible.
I have already given an outline of the exceptional climate in the upland steppe of Central Anatolia; this in turn governs the flora on which the bee depends for its existence. In the Armenian highlands the winters are admittedly more severe and last longer, but the general conditions are not as exacting as in Central Anatolia — or for that matter anywhere else in Asia Minor.
The honeybee of Central Anatolia is of unimpressive appearance. She is small, resembling the Cyprian in size, but has none of the glamour or uniformity in colour of that race. The colour of the Anatolian bee can best be described as a smudgy orange, turning to brown on the posterior dorsal and ventral segments. The scutellum is usually dark orange. The queens have a dark crescent-shaped rim on each dorsal segment — a characteristic of all Eastern races — but here they are browny-black, and in place of the yellow or light orange we have a dark orange. But beneath this sombre exterior are hidden qualities of incomparable economic value.
The Anatolian tends to extremes in both its good and bad qualities. Fortunately, she has few undesirable characteristics, the most serious of them being her disposition to build brace-comb beyond all reason. This is of no great consequence in primitive beekeeping with fixed combs, but an excess of brace-comb renders null and void the essential advantage of a modern hive. The Anatolian in addition uses propolis freely, which accentuates the drawbacks of the brace-comb. However, both these defects are largely mitigated, if not eliminated, when queens of this race are crossed with a good strain of Italian or possibly Carniolan. Indeed, it is only when suitably crossed — either in a first or second cross — that most beekeepers can hope to secure the best economic results from the Anatolian bee.
As for her good qualities, I believe I can state in all truth, that the Anatolian stands beyond comparison — certainly in foraging powers, thrift and wintering abilities. When crossed, she is extremely prolific. By mid-June a twelve-frame Modified Dadant brood chamber will usually be found chock-a-block with brood and honey. However, she does not breed to excess out of season, as so many other races are disposed to do. She is slow in building up in spring; she will not make a determined effort at extending her brood nest before settled weather has set in, but will then outstrip every other race. She does not squander precious stores and energy in premature and futile endeavours, in changeable and unfavourable early spring weather. After the main honey flow, and in times of dearth, she contrives to husband her reserves of stores and energy in an uncanny way. I regard the thrift of the Anatolian — particularly in our uncertain climatic conditions and honey flows — as one of her most valuable economic qualities, a quality which is sadly lacking in so many of our present-day strains, which breed to excess in times of dearth. Experience has shown that the Anatolian bee will take care of herself in times of dearth and in seasons of failure, when others die of starvation.
I have stressed the great fecundity and breeding powers of this race. I would however point out that, were it deemed desirable, one could without much difficulty develop a strain by selection which would accommodate itself readily to a single brood-chamber of British Standard dimensions.
Though so prolific when crossed, the Anatolian is not given to swarming, as our experience has demonstrated. She is also very good tempered, bearing manipulation with the greatest calm and composure, although she definitely resents interference in cold weather and late in the evening. Moreover, with regard to temper, there appears to be a considerable variation in strains, as I could verify myself when in Turkey. But the Anatolian is no exception in this respect; there is to my knowledge no race which does not show up a difference in temper between one strain and another. When unsuitably crossed, or when mated at random to drones of unknown origin, bad temper will result in almost any strain or race.
As already indicated, the Anatolian is endowed with an inexhaustible capacity for work — a faculty which enables her to turn her other good qualities into something of concrete value. Indeed, this bee embodies the highest development of industry and honey-gathering ability of any race known to me. In addition, we have here a bee that not only does extremely well in a good season, but one that does exceptionally well in indifferent and poor seasons. This is of far greater consequence and practical importance than a surpassing performance in an occasional really good season. The ability to do well even in the poorest of summers was clearly demonstrated during the disastrous season of 1963. On the other hand, in the exceptionally good season of 1959, when our average honey yield amounted to 169½ lb. per colony, the Anatolian crosses far exceeded this figure, and fulfilled our expectations in every way.
The Anatolian possesses many qualities and characteristics which may bewilder those who are unacquainted with the peculiarities of the race. For instance, Anatolian queens will usually take up to a week longer before commencing to lay after mating. This peculiarity has seemingly nothing to do with the weather, for the same delay would occur when under ideal mating conditions. On the other hand, I have found that 25% of the queens will give a full four years’ service, with unimpaired energy and fecundity, even in a normal honey-producing colony. It may be assumed that this exceptional longevity — which is most remarkable considering the great fecundity of the queens — is in some measure transmitted to the worker progeny. The extraordinary strength of the colonies, in relation to the actual fecundity of the queens, could not well be explained otherwise.
I wish to emphasize once more: the pure Anatolian cannot be relied on for maximum performance. It is only when suitably crossed that the full economic potentialities of the race come to the fore. Furthermore, as no selection has been done in its homeland up to now, queens of the best stock are not readily obtainable. But no doubt, in view of the great progress now under way in Turkey, the prospects of obtaining select breeding stock should materially improve.
Whilst I have had the good fortune to discover in the Central Anatolian bee a race of surpassing economic value
