British black bee

[Ma7tin]

Which bee to get for a beginner?

I fancy getting the British black bee as been told its a good bee for a beginner beekeeper.
What are people views?

 

[Chris B]

I think you're first priority should be good temper, regardless of bee type. The black bees can be good or bad tempered. I wouldn't give yourself the constraint of trying to source a particular race of bee. But if you do manage to find good tempered black bees then sure it's a good option.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Chris has said it all

 

[Stiffy]

Chris has said it all

Find a bee that suits you and if possible get as much handling experience with different strains as you can until you find the one you like.
You could also use the search function on the forum to see all the different arguments about the attributes of each strain but probably not worth the effort
S

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'm assuming you've joined your local association? if not, contact them ASAP now's the time to approach them, it's a bit late to see their bees now, but you'll have touched base, they'll be taking subscriptions in the new year, beginners courses starting soon after and you'll be up to scratch for the practical apiary days - they will probably help you with getting bees aas well

 

[For want of a better word]

I think you're first priority should be good temper, regardless of bee type. The black bees can be good or bad tempered. I wouldn't give yourself the constraint of trying to source a particular race of bee. But if you do manage to find good tempered black bees then sure it's a good option.

And if you can find some locally even better!

 

[Ma7tin]

Already joined nottinghamshire beekeeping association last month but like its been said I'm just to late to see any of theirs. Just thought i would throw the question out on here.
Been reading a few books and certain books say some bees are easier to handle than others.
Guess i wouldn't know until I have handled some like you guys say

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Already joined nottinghamshire beekeeping association last month but like its been said I'm just to late to see any of theirs. Just thought i would throw the question out on here.
Been reading a few books and certain books say some bees are easier to handle than others.
Guess i wouldn't know until I have handled some like you guys say

I handled bees on association training days for a few weeks before finding a nuc for sale. I was lucky enough to get Buckfasts as my starter. They found a nectar flow and took off like a rocket resulting in a rapid increase in hives numbers and fortunately there must have been decent drones as all my colonies are placid but hard working.
(I did have a hiccup when one virgin didn't make it back from mating but I bought in another in a nuc an united.)
Lets face it though - whatever bees you start with they will rapidly breed with anything else in your vicinity.

 

[user 6228]

I handled bees on association training days for a few weeks before finding a nuc for sale. I was lucky enough to get Buckfasts as my starter. They found a nectar flow and took off like a rocket resulting in a rapid increase in hives numbers and fortunately there must have been decent drones as all my colonies are placid but hard working.
(I did have a hiccup when one virgin didn't make it back from mating but I bought in another in a nuc an united.)
Lets face it though - whatever bees you start with they will rapidly breed with anything else in your vicinity.

We started with Buckfasts but we have blackbees as well now, but thats the hive commitee's choice, not ours .

What ever bees you get, keep them fed, keep them warm, be quiet and gentle with them, and with luck, they will be gentle and quiet with you.

 

[MuswellMetro]

And if you can find some locally even better!

agree local bee best, an AMM Black bee in this area (london) would go nasty at first re queening because the genepool is so different from AMM

I would really like to keep AMM but just a pipe Dream in London

 

[For want of a better word]

agree local bee best, an AMM Black bee in this area (london) would go nasty at first re queening because the genepool is so different from AMM

Not too sure that I could totally agree with that statement.

We have been looking at the wing morphometry of our local black bees and not seen any real aggression when they get crossed with the local lasses... just a lot more stripey!

However my personal experience is ( as I keep all three variants...( A m mellifera / A m ligusta / A m carnolia )when the dark Carniolian strains cross with just about anything... especially the Italian/ Buckfast/ New Zealand.... yellow bee types then there is going to be trouble...
perhaps because the Carniolian bees look so dark when compared with the yellow stripey jobs, this has lead to the myth that dark bees( Amm) get vicious if cross mated?

 

[BeeJayBee]

Lets face it though - whatever bees you start with they will rapidly breed with anything else in your vicinity.

And almost all types of bee are reasonably well-behaved when the colony is nuc sized.

 

[garlicpickle]

And almost all types of bee are reasonably well-behaved when the colony is nuc sized.

Yep, I was slightly intimidated when my previously small, sweet and docile colony got on the OSR and built up quickly!

 

[blackcavebees]

Yep, I was slightly intimidated when my previously small, sweet and docile colony got on the OSR and built up quickly!

Any type can get nasty when a flow ends, especially OSR

 

[DarynWebb]

I have some dark bees and they can be evil I've been stung by them every time I've worked them.
Find some gentle bees as you don't want to be put off & they will be more forgiving if or when you roll them etc.

 

[hedgerow pete]

you basically have a couple of choices, get hold of what ever comes your way and be greatfull of spend a lot of money chasing a specific breed or strain, i would suggest for a new beginger a carni strain or the so called buckfast strain. both will hold you well, are easier to deal with and are good to learn with.

the AMM, black bees are more hard work to deal with throught the year than rose tinted books make out.
whay you really need is a bee you can get confindence with , a bad mated queen of any form of bee, especial a dark bee and you are in serious pain levels.

 

[enrico]

Mine are real mongrels, I try and use offspring from nice queens when I requeen after a swarm, I don't care what they are as long as they are averagely quiet and give me some honey. I get rid of any real nasty ones by re queening from a quiet hive!
As long as you have several hives you can play around with temperament!
E

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Mine are real mongrels, I try and use offspring from nice queens when I requeen after a swarm, I don't care what they are as long as they are averagely quiet and give me some honey. I get rid of any real nasty ones by re queening from a quiet hive!
As long as you have several hives you can play around with temperament!
E

Too many people getting up their own backsides about the 'proper' strain and the pursuit of racial purity (we all know where that got the Germans don't we) not importing etc. - there's room for them all.
I started out with Buckies, and really like them (still do!) but went to dark bees just out of curiosity and stuck there because I liked them as well but that's only the precursor of breeding a few of my own queens. Just get nice bees regardless of thier colour or provenance.

 

[Swarm]

Local is best IMO, whatever they are. Mine are predominantly dark bees but I have a colony of ginger stripey jobs as well and if any hive is going to get sh!tty, it's these.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Local is best IMO, whatever they are. Mine are predominantly dark bees but I have a colony of ginger stripey jobs as well and if any hive is going to get sh!tty, it's these.

Funnily enough same here - the dark ones only got stroppy this year when I was taking off most of their honey. I have a swarm I caught this year (and i have a good idea where they came from) and they have turned into the nastiest bunch of vicious ba, well, you know! and the queen is of a much lighter hue - and will be getting lighter still with a thin coating of frost come next spring if they haven't calmed down