Queens???

[jimmybee]

Whats best an imported buckfast or a home bred queen?
looking at buying a new queen but im stuck for what to do.
Any help would be great.

 

[Tom Bick]

Home bread Buckfast

 

[susbees]

UK queen every time. Imports just muddy the gene pool even further and locally adapted bees are the way forward in this nutty climate.

 

[Bates]

UK queen every time. Imports just muddy the gene pool even further and locally adapted bees are the way forward in this nutty climate.

Try and mate the queens well in this weather? All my attempts have been a complete waste of time. Get the imported stock atleast you know they have had the sufficient weather to mate properly instead of something thats mated poorly if at all.

 

[enrico]

Try and mate the queens well in this weather? All my attempts have been a complete waste of time. Get the imported stock atleast you know they have had the sufficient weather to mate properly instead of something thats mated poorly if at all.

Or were artificially inseminated!!

 

[mbc]

Try and mate the queens well in this weather? All my attempts have been a complete waste of time. Get the imported stock atleast you know they have had the sufficient weather to mate properly instead of something thats mated poorly if at all.

And get another generation of warm weather drones incapable of mating in our version of "summer", or if they do manage to mate in a brief lull from the wind and rain then as susbees says, they will further muddy the gene pool.
Imported queens are a quick fix which essentialy just perpetuate an unsustainable future for UK beekeeping IMO

 

[oliver90owner]

Imported queens are a quick fix which essentialy just perpetuate an unsustainable future for UK beekeeping IMO

Eloquently put, and sums it up very well.

 

[protheroe]

And get another generation of warm weather drones incapable of mating in our version of "summer", or if they do manage to mate in a brief lull from the wind and rain then as susbees says, they will further muddy the gene pool.
Imported queens are a quick fix which essentialy just perpetuate an unsustainable future for UK beekeeping IMO

 

[Hivemaker.]

UK queen every time.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I prefer to work with the stock I have and try and select 1 or more colonies to breed new queens from.

 

[jimmybee]

Do the large scale commercial guys start out with there own home breed stock or do they use imports to start and replace as time goes on?

 

[aberreef]

Do the large scale commercial guys start out with there own home breed stock or do they use imports to start and replace as time goes on?

The one I know does both. Imports early in the season and breeds his own later on