From: RSBrenchley@aol.com
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 11:47:56 EDT
To: BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Getting ready for winter

JJ Harrier writes:

> Our 4 colonies in Hertfordshire, UK, have all stopped laying already,
> much earlier than we'd have expected from previous years - but apart
> from that, they all seem fine.

Do they have the same queens as before, and if not, have you raised the
new ones? I've noticed the same thing in one of my colonies, and I suspect
it's due to the new queen; bad weather may be leading to selection against
drones carrying Italian characteristics. Just a guess, but if other people in
the UK are seeing the same as me, I may be on the right lines. What type of bee do you have, by the way?

Regards,

Robert Brenchley,
Birmingham, UK.