Honey Makers

[REDWOOD]

What strain of bees stored the most honey in your apiary, considering all things equal

 

[youngyoungs]

None of them. First year and leaving anything they've made for them over the winter. Hoping for better luck next year.

 

[For want of a better word]

Local Cornish Amms put away excellent stores for themselves.....+ just about a super, but then colonies are small.
Carniolians were prolific then ate the lot!
NZ moderate, not anywhere as good as last year

B***** Localised type swarms dismal... feeding for stock bees for next season, if they can survive our winter !

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

What strain of bees stored the most honey in your apiary, considering all things equal

Errrrm...


Honey bees.

Dusty.

 

[REDWOOD]

Errrrm...


Honey bees.

Dusty.

Yes dusty but what strain of honey bees, and you are not allowed to include M&M honey

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

It didn't seem to be a strain to them at all.

Seemed to enjoy it.

D

P.s. did you miss me when I was on my hols recently?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Buckfast.

 

[REDWOOD]

It didn't seem to be a strain to them at all.

Seemed to enjoy it.

D

P.s. did you miss me when I was on my hols recently?

Yes I did there are a few missing, jack bee and finman

 

[justme]

AMM, Carnies and one strain of local mongrel have all done themselves proud, but in different apiaries. 2 other lots of local mongrel are for requeening next year, if they see the winter through. Poor by comparison.

 

[oliver90owner]

Three of my mongrel strains (not particularly related).

Expect the replies to be a bit skewed from anyone with only the one single strain?

Or the simple fact that the weather played havoc with the bees might just be another interfering function.

Along with young and old queens and other factors (such as how much they were fed early on) there is likely to be a rather mixed bunch of not-particularly-useful answers, in the main.

 

[Istel]

In my experience there are a number of factors, and strain is not the key one. I have had carniolans, NZ and local.
In the long-term its about having bees which are robust in your own environment, being selective with breeding, and careful with care.
Even still there is quite a wide variation from colony to colony.

 

[eleanor20]

The Buckfasts I bought from 'Bates', by a long way. The others were all too busy swarming to produce any honey!

 

[Tom Bick]

My Buckfast and my other Buckfasty-type-local did very well when others around me did not do so good but then I have noticed that on previous years.

 

[For want of a better word]

The REAL Buckfasts at Buckfast Abbey had a terrible year I hear.

Some of the honey I have tasted this year .... mainly from Devon have had very distinctive flavours. ( worst flavours... Creasote ? Solidago? Rape? and one either contaminated with sugar feed or the bees had been into a molases tank !)
Would this be I wonder to the [I"]honey farmer"[/I] taking off individual supers as they were slowly filled and specific flavours being more noticeable than in the usual blended crop when bees are more prolific?
Probably more to do with weather and location and concentration of bees / forage than to do with any particular type.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Perhaps they should of stuck to breeding their own queens, instead of buying different varieties from Batsis in Greece.

 

[mbc]

I try and keep my bees pure(ish) amm and irritatingly for me this year my top producing hive was one where the queen had obviously mated with a mixed bag of drones as many of her workers show a bit of yellow on the first and second segument of the abdomen.

 

[For want of a better word]

Perhaps they should of stuck to breeding their own queens, instead of buying different varieties from Batsis in Greece.

Greek bees... wondered why there was so many broken plates littering the old monks apiary!

 

[PBee]

I try and keep my bees pure(ish) amm and irritatingly for me this year my top producing hive was one where the queen had obviously mated with a mixed bag of drones as many of her workers show a bit of yellow on the first and second segument of the abdomen.

Probably hybrid vigour. Pure Buckfast won't be as prolific either as some F1 crosses according to the man himself...Brother Adam...

 

[Stiffy]

Danish Buckfast without a doubt produced the most honey for me with an average of 80lbs a hive and a pleasure to work with.
Local swarms of nasty black bxxxds I collected April/May did okay with about 30lbs, all requeened now for winter.
The one and only remaining AMM I have produced 60lbs, queenie is now 3 years old and still going strong, havnt the heart to replace her but will see how she winters this year.
S

 

[peteinwilts]

My purposefully purchased 2010 and 2011 Cornish bees did next to nothing bar one.

My biggest provider by far was a locally caught swarm that I caught a couple of years ago.

They are my darkest bees, but out in huge numbers whilst the Cornish bees were staying indoors due to the weather, which is probably WHY they did so well.

They were also first off the mark in Spring, and consistantly out the door first in the cool mornings.

Very aggresive, but with a consistant 0 Varroa mite drop and collecting more than all the other hives put together, HM stay of execution has been postponed.

If they weren't so grumpy they would make excellent breeding stock.

It will be interesting to see how they compare during a 'normal' year (unless this is now 'normal'!! I heard scientists believe this type of weather will stay whilst the North atlantic is as warm as it is... but am sure they are guessing! )