Imported Queens
I have read this item about imported queens. They may have originall y been the source of varroa but as someone has pointed out would only carry a couple of mites. We all have varroa now and are learning to live with it.
The many arguments about imported queens range bqck and forth across the forums all the time.
My colleague and I have 8 hives between us. 2 hives have imported greek queens from Bickerstaffes last year. 3 hives have first season greek crosses and the other 3 have English bees that have been allowed to naturally replace their queens for over 30 years.
The greek purebreds and crosses have started the year really well. They have large amounts of brood and large numbers of bees at present. On inspecting all hives yesterday we were very surprised at the brood in the freek hives. They have brood on 5 or 6 frames of commercial size or national brood and a half. The English have small cricket ball size brood on 3 frames.
The pure Greeks probably have 30% more bees and brood than the crosses. It is not difficult to work out why I may be in favour of certain imported queens!! I must admit I am concerned that I may inadvertantly introduce some other 'nasty' in the UK. The early availability of imports and their early Sping build up are always going to make them a viable option.
