Has anyone checked out the prices for 2003 queens and packages. They raised them up about as much as honey has gone up. This just makes me mad as can be. Do not get me wrong I am all for making a fair dollar but this is out of control. I raised more queens last year then I could use it is not that hard. Has demand gone that high? This is going to discourage beggining hobby beekeepers from trying this wonderfull hobby.
Hi Don,
thanks for the info. but im stuck on the cordovan bees. Im a hobbyist beekeeper and the cordovan bees are not only very pretty in their lite golden color but very gentle. Last year my hive of cordovan produced over 200 lbs of honey. Not only do they look good, gentle ,but can also make honey. Right now I just don't want to change horses in mid stream. Its good to hear from you my old neighbor. Walt
Bill: yes i'm going over to all cordovan's.I got 15 pkg's last year(cordovan)& started all on foundtion did'nt have any drawn comb& 5 3band Italian's pkg's.I've lost 4 of the Italian so far,also requeened some of my other hives with cordovan,i've only lost 1 of them & it got knocked over.also they are real gentle.My son live's in Ms. & he's had good luck with them also.In this part of the country they seem to do real good.I could have got honey off of some.but did'nt want to push my luck.
WJW777, the bees are very gentle,I've even got my wife liking them(lol).I don't hardly ever wear a veil& that's what I like about them.on my other bees i have to most of the time.
Mark.
Just put the check in the mail to McCary today. When talking to him he hides nothing from ya. Honest , feel real warm towards him. He must have some operation down there.Mark , are your bees real yellow almost I call butter yellow strips you can barely see. working with them is actully fun. Getting them the week of April 20th he is all booked up the first part of April already. how is your interduction with the queen with your cordovans
Any tricks that might help me suceed with introduction
Walt
Walt: I know what you mean about mr: mccary,he is a very nice man,I meet his 2 son's down there & they are just like there dad,yes his bees is yellow,I'd say there golden more than yellow,before the computer that is unlimited on info,I've phoned him with problems& he's alway seem glad to help.he treat's everone the same if you buy 1 queen or 1000.I know you'll enjoy the nature of the bees & I just take a nail & push a small hole in the candy, never had any problem with them excepting the queen,
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the info. the bees I got from Koehen and sons were really yellow when the sun hit them it was like if someone turned a flashlight on them. But I know Mr McCary's bees will be just fine. Im so excited about getting them. They will be coming here to Ohio the week of April 20th , pray to God that all the snow will be gone by then lol
Mark, thanks for all your input I really appreciated all that you had to say.
Yours in the hobby
Walt
Really nice to meet people like you on this forum. Thats what its all about
The cordovan queens have a reddish tint to them and the workers black bands are very faded.I,ve heard them referred to as 'ultra-yellow'.Tom Glenn sells breeder stock and has a lot of info on his website.Although he says it is just a color phase that isnt linked to other characteristics,I never saw cordovans that didnt try to turn every drop of honey into brood.Under the right conditions,this can lead to an extraordinary honey crop.But they can also starve very easily when things go wrong.
---Mike
I ordered bees from Mr.McCary about 2 weeks ago,he said he would send me an invoice, then i was to mail the payment in...how long did it take u guys to get your invoices from him?????
O.k. i was getting worried he forgot about me.i really do want these kind of bees(nice ones)because this is my first year beekeeping.i will hold on awhile then before i call him again.thanks for responding so quickly!!!!
Hi,
Logger, your right, the cordovans were bred for their color,but gentleness also came into play when they decided to make ,if you want to call it , a strain of honeybees, Im sure there can be cross hives of Cordovans but from the people i talked with they are few and far between. That is the chance I have to take. But I sure met alot of nice people who have the Cordovans and that is just as good as the bees. And as far as invoices and such, I gave him the date i would like them shipped , he agreed and that was that. I really don't need anymore paper to throw out LOL
Walt
About Cordovans.
Perhaps I'm reading more into the postings than what's really there but everytime I read a posting about Cordovans, it seems they're almost addressed as a different race of honeybees when really, they're basically just Italians with a recessive genetic colour mutation.
Please don't get me wrong, if you guys that have them are happy with them, then perhaps ultimately that's all that matters.
I note an article that Sue Cobey wrote in Bee Culture (Nov. 1990) and a little more in Bee Culture (Jan. 1994) these bees tend to be a little more susceptible to chalkbrood disease. Have you all experienced any of this?
Also (just a general observation on my part), in order for the recessive gene to produce either the Yellow Cordovans or the Purple Cordovans, it takes an artificially inseminated queen which has been inseminated with Cordovan-gene drones. Otherwise, your stock will revert back (over time), to "normal" honeybee colours.
And lastly, at least in the early days of Sue keeping the Cordovan stock, colour was the only breeding/selection criteria - any
other characteristics (be they good or bad) was a far secondary consideration -- is that really what you want? I suppose if they're producing great amounts of honey, then you're going to be happy. But if not, then that too, is a result of their highly variable characteristics (that is, variable except for colour, of course).
Texbeeguy,
As I said earlier, it is a genictic trait the color that is, but once the color was there Joe Lawshaw from Ohio State University started looking for traits that he felt was necessary for a good all around bee. Sue at one time I believe worked with Joe and than started with the carnolians and is basicially doing the same thing that Joe did. Looking for the good all around bee .No chalk brood with my bees. I heard Joe Ladshaw would work with the bees he started and there was a saying I heard ,how true I don't know, but if he entered a hive and got stung once it was his mistake , second time well start looking for another queen for that hive. I know for a fact that Koehens would send queens to Joe to be inseminated and than send them back to them so for me the queeen born in California was sent to Ohio than back to California and than back to me in Ohio. Kind of wild isn't it , no wonder my Cordovans are gentle their pooped from all of that moving back and forth. LOL
I talked to Joe many times on e-mail and gentleness was looked at for a top priority in his selection and I believe he did a great job. and carried down to the other breeders who bought his queens.
Best Regards
Walt
Got my invoice from CF Koehnen and Sons. The package prices with shipping. I order 4 packages and with shipping they came to $69.80. The UPS next day shipping is the killer. It is $91.15. The cost for the packages is $47.00 for a 3# package w/queen. I am very satisfied with bees that I got from them last year, so I am going to stay with them, even though the UPS rates are killing me.
Hi Surveyor,
like i said earlier its not Koehnen raising the prices its that UPS next day service. It can be very hard on the package bee business with what UPS now demands bees being shipped. I know you'll get great bees from them. keep me posted with ya Surveyor?
Walt
I will be getting my bees from Koehnen in about 4 weeks. I plan on ordering some bees from McCary. Have not placed the order yet, but plan to in the next day or so. Does anyone know how the temperment of McCary's bees is in comparison to the bees from CF Koehnen?
Surveyor: I can't tell you the temperment of the bee's mccary is all I've got but they are a pleasure to work,what I really wanted to say is if your going to order from mccary I won't wait to lone , because the last I talked to him he was getting behind.because of the weather, mark
Hi Mark and Survyor,
I never had McCary bees,but i do know he said his store is Glenn Apiaries of
California. And I knew some people who had that stock and was very pleased with them. Koehnens bees we so gentle that i received I just couldn't believe it. But as you said surveryor that next day shipping kills you,with UPS and Parcel Post won;t ship that far. McCary is a very nice and very honest man from talking with him. and im trying him out. and i believe they will be what im looking for. If for some reason one of the hives is a little bit aggressive well ill buy a queen (cordovan queeen that is) and go on . this winter in the Northern states have been very cold and heavy losses are reported alrready i was told in Michigan over 59 percent and Ohio can be just as bad. so order early i think supplies will be short. Respectfully yours
Walt
I would recommend them to anyone. The bees were great, gentle and very productive. They have a brillant golden color. I have ordered from them again, and eating a chunk of change on the shipping. As far as I am concerned, If I could afford the shipping, I would order all my bees from there.
UPS really laid a world of hurt, when they required next day air. Plus I live all the way on the east coast.
Plus the people there at Koehnen are great people. I spoke with a lady there today, she was nice and very pleasant to talk to. Customer service is worth alot in todays market place.
Thesurveyor
[This message has been edited by thesurveyor (edited March 11, 2003).]
Wired,
Your dealing with one of the greatest bee suppliers in this country. They are truly a five star company. you won't go wrong with them ,and their bees are as nice as the people you will be dealing with. As surveyor said living on the east coast puts the hurt on us because of UPS next day service.
I envy you for living so close to them.
Yours in the hobby
Walt
Has it occured to any of you to buy some package bees of whatever breed that are cheaper and just buy their queens? Shipping on queens isn't bad at all.
Hi Mike,
Yes thought about it quite abit, but here in Ohio the winters have not been kind to our bees, plus the city has grown around us and the number of hives is minimal. so dividing hives with our weather can be very detrmetal to our bees , I tried it and lost big time. And another point,Mike, I really love to play with package bees and watch what comes out. But maybe mike i will have to go your route because of shipping and the cost.Thanks for your comment.
Respectfully yours
Walt
Walt,
I actually live close enough to go pick up the packages myself, and I am real stoked about doin it too. I also live within driving distance of Honey bee Genetics, Strachan Apiaries, Glenn Apiaries, and a few others. It is a 5 hour drive, but well worth it.
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