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We live in an area with a very long damp spring and a very long damp fall. Winter is fairly mild (zone 7-8) and usually very overcaste. Summer can be ruthlessly clear and hot. Last year it went up to 112F in August but usually only get to 102F for the summers high. I am thinking I would like to try a new breed that would do well in such an environment. I'm in the mountain woods. Blackberries, wild flowers, some vetch and clover for nectar sources. Is there a resource on the net with an extensive description of the breeds and the best environments for them?
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the ~ox-{ at www.singingfalls.com
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Get several of each "breed" and see which do best. For your area I would try sticking with NWC and Italians and see which do best. Obvious Best, depends a lot on what your criteria are.
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The best way to get a breed for your area is start with something vaugely close and just raise your own queens from then on. The local bees will supply the drones and eventually you'll have bees bred for that area.
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Mr.Bush. That's pretty much what I have now. Last year I lost 4 of five hives to ? and I intend to keep that strain going if I can.
Mr. McPherson. $500.00 for a proven queen 0_0 from Sacramento would be nice but way out of my league at this time. Any reputable West Coast breeders that accomodate the lone hermit in the mountains?
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the ~ox-{ at www.singingfalls.com
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You lost 4 of five hives, what was happening; didnÂ’t you monitor the mite fall? What was your treatment against the Varroa; was there enough food for the winter?
Loosing 4 out of 40 is not nice but you lost 80%. Before youÂ’re looking for a different breed find the answer, otherwise this will occur very soon again.
Go only with strong colonies in the winter and give them lots of food. Better more then less, if there is some food left in spring you can store the frames till the next fall or you can give them to a split next spring.
IÂ’m sure it has nothing to do with your bees or the environment.
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Hey Ox, this is where I got my package of bees and they're doing *excellent*. Nice Queens. http://www.jett.net/~allens/
Much luck
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Axtmann:
I am sure it was a combination of starvation and mites. For years I've pretty much left the bees "do their thing" only to harvest small amounts of surplus. I was oblivious of the mite problem. Then a friend bequeathed me with two hives a couple of years ago.
So now I've been doing my homework on mite management. Problem is I am what would be considered a hard core "granola". I've had enough toxic chemical exposure to kill an army (Vietnam vet) and I just would rather not go the apistan route except as a very last resort. SOOOOO lesson hard learned. I am willing to take more time if need be to deal with the problem.
I have never had to feed prior to winter but you can rest assured I will be checking this year.
Scotty, thanks for the lead. Reading is about 5 hours from me.
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the ~ox-{ at www.singingfalls.com
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irrigon is much further north
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Ox ,I hear you on the toxic chemical thing.The problem is varroa are tough and without some sort of chemical treatment will wipe out the bees.Mineral oil is the least toxic but in my experience just doesnt work.Lots of people are now adding thymol to the mineral oil and fogging with that,but there are reports of lack of effectiveness with that too so the jurys still out on that one.Oxalic acid and formic acid are effective and are acceptable in some countries in organic honey production because they are present in honey naturally but have some user risk attached and technically arent legal in the US.But first you have to know your mite levels using some sort of sticky board .
The Russian bees come from a pretty harsh climate and seem to have some mite resistance.There are a lot of different strains of Russian and the 2 I used werent up to snuff for MY purposes,but that doesnt mean that the other strains arent any good.Get some and see. The Carniolans are native to a mountainous region so have the genetics for mountain survival(cold winters,unsettled springs).
[This message has been edited by loggermike (edited June 13, 2004).]
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loggermike: You've got me pegged. I'm leaning real hard toward the Carniolans and oxalic acid as a first line of defense while at the same time I work toward natural resistance. I mentioned elsewhere that a $500 NWC queen is out of my league and i'm hoping resistant strains become a common commodity soon. Problem with any chemical treatment is that the parasites get resistant, the bees don't develop resistance to the mites and I get poisoned. But just like I manage my herd of livestock, the bottom line is that a chemicaled critter is better than a dead one. I have used apistan strips. The old timer naturalist bee keeper within reach of me hates apistan and has instilled that in me (easy target 
).
This I know. I'm in it for the long haul. I like bees.
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the ~ox-{ at www.singingfalls.com
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you dont need a 500$ queen those are breeder queens a standard Carniolan or NWC should be in the 10-20 $ range + shipping
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joens: I've been looking at some sites today and I see there are some real nice choices.
I take it breeder queens are for queen rearing purposes and that the $ is for quarenteed purity of stock.
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Ox I see on your website you have Angora Goats .I used to have a few of those in south texas.they are some great animals.
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Yes, been running angoras for about 25 years. Mohair and honey go good together 
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the ~ox-{ at www.singingfalls.com
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Ox,
I never told you to buy a breeder queen. Breeder queens of ALL strains cost between $250-$600. That's nothing to do with the race per se. Buy a NWC queen from a supplier in the $10-20 dollar range. Kona Queen is a good source.
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Scot Mc Pherson
Foundationless Small Cell Top Bar Hives
BeeWiki: http://linuxfromscratch.org/~scot/beewiki/
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Mr. McPherson: I didn't suggest that you recommended a $600 queen. That figure range came as a result of my efforts to find a quality source. I'll check out Kona queen. Thanks
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the ~ox-{ at www.singingfalls.com
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