Since you asked, I thought I would add more to what has been reported here in this thread.
A few years ago, a US university with a very good bee lab did a study comparing different stocks of honey bees from around the US. I participated in the study. One of the things they looked at was the genetic diversity of the bees. They wanted to know if the different stocks were genetically different. I've seen some of the results, which, I must say, pleased me. I'm not going to say anything until they publish the paper, and I think it's close to being published.
Anyway, before they publish the report, they wanted to know more about my bees. I answered as best I could.....
On 1/3/2017 9:00 AM, Michael Palmer wrote:
Retirement?? What?
Yep, got the bees tucked away. Wasn't easy this year. Think drought. We made an excellent honey crop. Mating % was high and the new queens are fat. Thankful for that. But, the Fall flow failed. Almost completely, and that's the winter feed in my management. So, mixed 20,000 lbs of granulated sugar into syrup, and fed it out. The clusters responded nicely, but I'm still concerned with weight. They're good enough for now but come March I'll be out there with my snowshoes and toboggan and fondant. Did someone say retirement?
Can't wait till I see the paper. I've always felt that ***** ***** were all the same bee, no matter which of the breeders you bought them from. Dave Tarpy told me I was right, as his tests showed just that. I suppose stocks reared in the rest of the country are similar, just a reflection of that group...like the ****** folks. And too many of the commercial guys are managing their bees with that stock...requeening every year with the same stuff, and not doing any of the breeder selection from their best stocks. And the backyard beekeepers are doing the same...buying from the huge breeders, requeening every year. Much of that because their bees swarm or die every year. And, I think that's one of the major issues with our bees right now. Too much of the stock out there has queens from puppy mill breeders. Selected for nothing but raising package bees. If it's a bug that lays an egg, it's a queen and gets shipped.
Now, I've been doing what I do for years. I'm not saying that the system is perfect, or that I know everything about breeding, or that my stock is better than the rest. Maybe it's nurture, maybe it's nature, but probably both. I get to choose my breeders from colonies that I follow for years. They go on and on, year after year being a top producer in their apiary. Never a dip in production because they swarmed or can't supercede at the correct time, or even successfully. For instance, In 2015/16 I used a breeder that came from a colony like that. Installed the original queen in the hive in 2001. Her hive has been one of those. Only treated for varroa. Of course they've superceded over the years, but a top producer every year. No disease, gentle, don't need fall feeding, wonderful bees. Whoa you should see how her daughters winter/spring in their nucs. We showed our new inspector when we were transferring the nucs to 10 frame equipment. Blew his socks into his watch pocket.
Anyway, maybe my bees are different just because I don't requeen every year, I don't know.
No, I won't be in Galveston. Been to too many meetings and taking a break till mid-February when I start again. Kalamazoo, Winnipeg, and Kamloops, BC. Crazy year. First a trip through the south...NC, OH, GA, WA, and TX. Now it's the Canadians. Going to do my best to throw a wrench in the package importation foolishness from NZ and AU.
I'll try to answer the questions as best as I can.
>>1) how many generations/years you have been breeding queens ?
I began raising my own queens in about 1998. By 2000 I was no longer buying in production queens or replacement bees. I quit pollinating apples that year to focus on raising my own stock. Good move!
2) what stock did you start with?
3) what additional genetics have you introduced into your breeding program?
I started in 1974 with, I believe Wilbanks Italians. Bought them from FW Jones in Quebec. Border was open at that time. In the early 80s I was using Starline from York in Jessup Georgia. Then came Acarine. And as that was getting going, I took the advice of an old friend, Buster Smith, and what Gene Robinson reported at EAS one summer...that Buckfast (and Webster) was very resistant to Acarapis. So, mid to late 80s I began requeening with Buckfast from Roy Weaver. Wow! Issue gone.
In 98, I sent 400 colonies to Florida for the winter. Big mistake. Came back with AFB, rotten with chalk. At that point, I requeened all chalky colonies with Pat Heitkam's stock. Good hygienic bees. Cleaned up the chalk immediately. Issue gone!!
So that's when I began raising my own stock. My first breeder queen was from one of his daughters. Drones were likely of Buckfast stock. Since I don't requeen by the calendar, but by performance, lots of the Buckfast stock remained.
In 2004, I bought a couple VSH breeders from Tom and Suki Glenn, and repeated that a few times, raising some % of my queens from their stock and spreading it throughout my operation. I've brought in a few breeders from Finklestein. Traded breeders with Latshaw. A couple from Harbo in 2016. So, I do bring in stock from others to try it out. To see what they have to offer. Some seem to be rubbish right off the bat. Some give daughters that will eat you up. Some fail to winter or are too weak in the spring to be considered for breeding material. That bunch gets eliminated.
So, basically, that's my history and my stock. I love my bees. 2014-15, a severe winter, I had a 12% loss in winter. Last year, a mild winter, I had a 2% winter loss....this with about 700 colonies. Making nice crops, usually around 100lbs. Selling more nucs and queens than I ever have. Bought new extracting equipment last Fall, and a new Truck this. All paid for. Paying my help $18/hr. The bees have been good to me.
Retire? Not if I can keep good help.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Be well
Mike
On 1/2/2017 10:10 AM, ******* wrote:
Hi Mike
Happy New Year! Hope you got all those bees tucked in nicely for the winter!
I am reflecting on my 1st year of retirement.
Our graduate student ******, who worked on the project to compare the northern and southern bee stocks in **, is in the process of getting this paper published. We were asked by the reviews to add a genetic analysis of the stocks to be certain there are differences between the northern vs southern stocks. ****** has done this and found that there are indeed differences. However some additional information on your queens would be very helpful for the publication. Can you provide us with the following information:
1) how many generations/years you have been breeding queens ?
2) what stock did you start with?
3) what additional genetics have you introduced into your breeding program?
Will you be at the Galveston meetings? We are planning to go so hopefully will see you there.
Thanks for your help Mike. We'll share this paper with you so soon as it is accepted by the reviewers.
******* ********