From: "deelusbybeekeeper" <deelusbybeekeeper@excelonline.com>
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 08:12:19 -0700
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: local bees?

Hi to all on Biological Beekeeping

I'm in W. Pennsylvania wrote:

> How does one determine the best strains for "your" area? Seems
> everyone has
> a diff opinion and does it matter where you find them? Thus far everyplace
> I've contacted is out of bees or cant ship to the u.s. (oops but you cant
> tell who your contacting any more or where)

Reply:

This is a judgement call more and more in todays world! Technically, the
majority of bees in the temperate areas of our world are black and for the
most part small in the 4.7mm-5.0mm range with the exception of hot thermal areas when they transition into yellow.. In tropical areas bees range about 4.6mm-4.9mm and are for the most part yellow with the exception of high elevation where they transition into black. Where they meet the yellower are normally larger and the balck smaller in the cuff zones.

With todays bees so artificially enlarged and not matching native flora,
allowing for full foraging, bees are at a detriment. Diet has a big
influence on health. Thus buying bees too big to the native plants in ones
general area affects their health in the long term and foraging for pollen
and honey also, which effects the pocket book of the beekeeper in others
ways. Also not having bees on a natural system also effects their
atrtractiveness for parasitic mite attacks, besides other scavangers.

What is best, would be what would best acclimatize to match your area, be it
either yellow or black or combination of both. It used to be said that
Italian were a thoroughbred race of small natural black/yellow bees where
they come together naturally. Beekeepers could use them to go to either the
dark side or the light side with genetics, but I don't think it is talked
about anymore.

For now, best might be survivorship! Look for feral bees living in your area
and cut them out. Then build your numbers up. Old saying used to be, with
suvivorship problems disappear, then work up to gain numbers and
variability. Then with numbers and variaability breeding becomes possible
again. But this does take time and in todays fast pace world, many are
unwilling to meet the challenge.

For now try to find local bees. Get some of Dadant's new properly sized
4.9mm foundation and then size them down and work them up without use of various dopes. Crutches for use on bees is silly for survivalability where
it counts. Nature doesn't work this way.

Wish I could help you with bees. That might be a thought for later.

Don't know if I answered your question or gave you more questions.

Regards,

Dee A. Lusby