This was a bit of research done in Poland.
It is surprising that in Bcf group the development
of colonies overwintering without
insulation was significantly better,
which was not found in nor x cau. Similar
relationship was found by Bruder Adam
(1983) in the British Isles. In his opinion
the influence of low temperature on the
physiological processes of overwintering of
bees has positive impact on the springtime
colony development. The question, however,
why that phenomenon occurred only
in Bcf colonies remains still open. It may
be supposed that more intensive development
of Bcf colonies resulted from their
higher strength at the last autumn inspection,
yet it was not confirmed statistically.
The results of the author’s research are
compliant with the view that Bcf bees are
characterized by more rapid springtime development
than Middle European bees
(Hoñko and Jasiñski 2002). Moreover,
German researchers (Büchler 1998b) are
of the opinion that Bcf bees enter the
overwintering period very strong and that
their springtime development is very intensive.
To sum up, it may be stated that Bcf
bees turned out to be resistant to weather
conditions of eastern Poland, since their reaction
to adverse conditions during
overwintering was weaker than that of
nor x cau. No increased susceptibility to
Nosema apis and Varroa destructor was
found in Bcf colonies. In the autumn feeding
of Bcf bees, care should be taken to
supply the food quantity appropriate to the
colony strength, taking into consideration
the increased food consumption in winter
which results from the early commencement
of intensive brood rearing. Even
harder overwintering conditions resulting
from the lack of insulation did not adversely
influence the pace of the springtime
colony development of Bcf colonies, and
insulating the hive may turn out to be superfluous
as colonies that overwintered
without insulation developed better than
those with insulation. As far as
overwintering and springtime colony development
are concerned, Bcf bees meet
the expectations of beekeepers from the
eastern Poland, since just the satisfactory
use of the early nectar flow is dependent on
the favourable overwintering and intensive
springtime colony development.
