Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,024
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
.
Succesfull habits of natural bees are
1) Give stings to the enemy and protect your nest and winter stores
2) Swarm and exist (=popagation)
In beekeeping these are nasty habits. So tame the bee and select those who has depressed those two habits. In bee life that means gene error which a human can use for his own advantage.
Some years ago I byed 5 different races and I let them hybridize freely:
2 distant italian stocks
Buckfast
Elgon
Carniolan
What I got? - Killerbees and nasty habits. Very swarmy and very stingy.
When I nursed my bees, I got more stings in one day more than in my past 10 years. In Autumn I got 170 stings in 3 days from one hive when I tried to take honey away.
Explanation:
So tame and non sting habits are gene error and it seems that in different stocks they may be different genes.
When the queen mates with 16 drones, at least part of genes will be healed in grossings and bees will act like natural succesfull bees: Fight and propagate!
So 50% + 50% is something else than suspected. It makes new habits which were not seen in original stocks.
The worst in the gang were black Elgon Monticola genes. It means that they are from Kenya Elgon mountains. Stingy bees had mostly black appearance.
It took several years to get rid of monticola genes even If I changed the queens. Monticola swarms lived propably in nearby empty rural buildings and sent their wild genes to my fine virgins.
Now I have only one nasty hive out of 30.
.
Succesfull habits of natural bees are
1) Give stings to the enemy and protect your nest and winter stores
2) Swarm and exist (=popagation)
In beekeeping these are nasty habits. So tame the bee and select those who has depressed those two habits. In bee life that means gene error which a human can use for his own advantage.
Some years ago I byed 5 different races and I let them hybridize freely:
2 distant italian stocks
Buckfast
Elgon
Carniolan
What I got? - Killerbees and nasty habits. Very swarmy and very stingy.
When I nursed my bees, I got more stings in one day more than in my past 10 years. In Autumn I got 170 stings in 3 days from one hive when I tried to take honey away.
Explanation:
So tame and non sting habits are gene error and it seems that in different stocks they may be different genes.
When the queen mates with 16 drones, at least part of genes will be healed in grossings and bees will act like natural succesfull bees: Fight and propagate!
So 50% + 50% is something else than suspected. It makes new habits which were not seen in original stocks.
The worst in the gang were black Elgon Monticola genes. It means that they are from Kenya Elgon mountains. Stingy bees had mostly black appearance.
It took several years to get rid of monticola genes even If I changed the queens. Monticola swarms lived propably in nearby empty rural buildings and sent their wild genes to my fine virgins.
Now I have only one nasty hive out of 30.
.
