Identifying my Queen breed

[RoseCottage]

All,
I started last year and ordered a nuc from Thornes Wragby. They failed to deliver when planned so I went and fetched it. It never crossed my mind that I should ask what type of queen I had at the time.

I did a two day course at Thornes Stockbridge before I got my bees and was told that John Cosburn (?) would supply bees and that they would mainly be Hawaiian Queens.

I have had a very peaceful year with the girls and was only stung once at the end of the Autumn when I had removed a super too early and they were a little cramped and stressed.

My queen has a green dot on her back, not sure if she has clipped wings, and looks thin and light brown in colour. On my course, run by John, the queens were all black.

Questions:
1. Is this too little information to guess the source of my queen?
2. Do Thornes have to keep a register of what they sold to whom?

I am just wondering about her second year temperament,
All the best,
Sam.

 

[Poly Hive]

1 is yes.

2 is they should.

My q is why should her temperament (which seems excellent to say the least) change over winter?

PH

 

[RoseCottage]

I was reading the other thread about bee behaviour and was wondering if temperament changes with age and realised that a lot of people seemed to know what queen they had and how its behaviour changes.
Thanks for taking the time to reply PH,
Sam

 

[Poly Hive]

Can it change with age to an extent yes as the sub sets of half sisters will change depending on which drone's semen the queen is utilising at any time.

That though is not due to the age of the queen as such but to the genetic material she is using.

PH

 

[MuswellMetro]

Thornes Hawaiians could be Italian or Carnolions queens

italians are gold and brown

it they look like this photos below they are an italian strain

if they a Brown without the gold then they may be carnolion...both calm bees for beginners but if the are Carnolions then read a book on swarm control before they decide to swarm in April ( may even be earlier in Andover..we had a swarm on 1st April)

 

[tonybloke]

by the way, if the colour on her back is green, she is an '09 queen.

 

[grizzly]

Hi Sam

I know John Cosburn, his bees are within a stones throw of one of my Apiarys, he is the only Commercial Beekeeper i know in the area and i have never heard any complaints about his bees.

You could always ask him, i think i have his e-mail address somewhere will try and put you in touch.

 

[BKF Admin]

John is using Carnies.
He's a nice chap who I have a lot of time for.

 

[Bcrazy]

I have to go along with PH regarding what he says about a queen changing temperament she should bee as she was before the winter set in, its only her offspring that will or might change temperament due to the change in sperm being used to fertilise the eggs, a lot of beekeepers miss interpret what they see the queen doing, by that I have had beekeepers say she is nervous because she will try to move to the darker side of the frame being inspected, that is rubbish because its a natural occurrence to seek the dark if its what has become the norm. If she walks around on the frame great she is not skittish or anything else, I would say she is quite calm. I believe not enough attention is paid to the queens on inspections. You can and I still do study the movements of queens as they are the mother of the hive inmates.

Regards;