Black bee advice

[theengraver]

The problems most are having now is in-breeding in areas they have tried to keep as a closed shop and thats why BIBBA and others have moved away from the black bee and now promote the " Local Bee" but in most areas there are not even close to having a " Local Bee " as what is a local bee and how far is local
PS sorry for the spelling mistakes on my website as someone pointed out

 

[Baggyone]

My bees are now 3rd generation New Zealand Golds (original came from KBS) and have been open mated.

Original colony was very productive BUT was poor coming out of winter.
First gen and second gen have kept the productive nature but are getting better at over wintering.
3rd so far been very good. Good natured and non swarmy which is one of my main concerns. This is despite the random nature of the mating which is of course making them more and more "local".

There is a lot of talk regarding the black bee but it really depends on what you are looking for in a bee. Father in law has really black bees but hells teeth are they swarmy which makes this time of year very hard work. So we are trying to get a nice medium.

baggy

 

[Bead]

Ricky Wilson sells Welsh dark queens for £22.50 post paid. They are very well-regarded, being prolific layers and of a good temperament. Here's his email address: [email protected]

I've just sent off for one, to replace an AWOL queen from the primary hive.