Longevity, Bee size, Colony size, and other special characters of different bees???

[josethayil]

Hey All,
I would like to start this new thread to find out and share the characters of different strains of bees which are favored and which are not favored by different people, so that everyone gets a good idea about what bees they would like to have.

Longevity - Which strain of bees live the longest and which the shortest?

Bee Size - Which strain of bees are have bigger body and which strain has short body?

Colony Size - Which strain of bees make large colonies and which strain makes small colonies?

Disease and pest resistance - Which strains are better against disease and which strains are not?

Spring Buildup - Which strain of bees buildup fast and which strains are slow?

Aggressiveness - Which strain are aggressive and which strains are gentle?

Honey Production - Which strains produce more honey and which strains produc less?

Foraging Distance and Time - Which strains of bees forage longer distances and which strains forage short distance and what time is the peak foraging activities taking place?

Over Wintering - Which strains over winter better and which strains dont?

Tropical and Mediterranean Climate - Which strains do better in tropical and mediterranean climates and which strains dont?

Pollen Collection - Which strains collect more pollen and which strains collect less?

Swarming - Which straing swarm more and which strains swarm less?

Supersedure - Which strains of bees supersedure more and which strains supersedure less?

Propolis collection - Which strains collect more propolis and which strains collect less propolis?

Wax Production and Comb Building - Which strains of bees produce more wax and build combs faster and which strains dont?

Tongue Length - Which strains have longer tongue and which strains have shorter tongue?

Wing Length and Strength - Which srtain of bees have longer and stronger wings and which strains dont?

If anyone has the answers to any of the above questions, feel free to post a reply. Sharing your knowledge will always benefit the bee keepers, bee keeping industry and the bees in general.

[Jeffzhear]

You might do better searching your topics here on beesource, vs asking someone to write a book in response. Just my thoughts. Regards

[josethayil]

i am not asking for the answer to all the questions from one person. i just want to know everyones personal opinions about the different type of bees which they normally deal with. you can answer any one question or any number of them.

cheers
Jose

[Tom G. Laury]

One of the outstanding characteristics of Carnolian bees is longevity, both of workers and queens. This is why they can maintain a high population with a small(er) brood nest. Many ramifications to this one character.

In general, light colored, broody, highly populated races have shorter lived workers. These characteristics have their advantages also.

[josethayil]

I find carniolans to be excellent comb builders if swarming is managed properly. They do get very active on comb when they are getting into the spring. They produce a lot of brood in a short period of time and build comb very fast than any other race.

[fat/beeman]

I think its more like driveing a type of car,we all look for something different.queen alike ask other bk's what they use read lot and look at forums here.
Don