Claressa, here’s my thinking on BWeaver. They’re located in an area that has feral AHB population.
Correct, but BeeWeaver floods their drone yards with their drones, reducing the chance that one of their queens will be bred by an AHB drone. If their queens are of European stock, the drones produced by these queens will not under any circumstances have AHB genetics; however, in case of supercedure, then the superceeded queen could [only if the purchased queen would have been bred by a AHB drone].
One characteristic of AHB is an ability to tolerate varroa without treatment.
During the early to mid 90's, about 20-30 colonies [can't recall the exact number] were displaced by AHB at the ARS Weslaco, Texas Research center [located close to the border of Mexico]. 80-90% [as I can recall] of these AHB colonies died from mite infestation. The conclusion of this test was that AHB had no more resistance to mites than European bees [I assume the original colonies were large cell, although this was not specified in the report].
On the other hand queen breeders and producers as well as the USDA and entomologists the world over have been trying, unsuccessfully, to produce a European bee that can tolerate varroa without treatment.
Unsuccessfully? There are mite resistance bees for sale all over the country. As usual, BeeWeaver has been one of the leaders in this developement.
So, either one of two things has occurred. BWeaver has stumbled upon the holy grail of beekeeping (a European honey bee that tolerates varroa without treatment) or their bees have a significant enough mix of AHB genetics confer that trait. Choose for yourself.
Maybe they just are ahead of the industry as they usually are. Call them, they are honest people and will share with you the results of any test for AHB genetics on their stock, then you can make a decision based upon the facts as opposed to unsupported speculation.
However, I haven't found a local supplier that doesn't treat. I was thinking of trying the BeeWeaver queen as an experiment because they advertise that they began breeding for resistance in the mid 90s and haven't treated since 2001.
Call them or email them about any questions that you have Claressa. These are people with excellent reputations.
It seems the earliest I can get a queen is about May 1. I would rather split earlier, but I was thinking a small later split would make for a nice nuc to take into winter and/or the occasional spare parts for other hives in my apiary.
You might consider making splits on the towards the end of the honey flow, and have young queens going into the winter and early next spring.
I don't mind having 'some AHB genetics'
I would.
but I would mind having an AHB phenotype.
And you won't get this from BeeWeaver. Contact them, and share your concerns.
I most certainly do not want to be responsible for the spread of that phenotype beyond its current habitat.
IMO there is a much greater chance of this from migratory beeks or those colonies which have been on the almonds.
I'd really like answered in this post is if anyone has noticed that BeeWeavers are significantly more aggressive than others.
I currently have a marked BeeWeaver Queen from last spring. She is my strongest colony [and I do not treat], not the gentlest nor the most
Defensive, but certainly not
Aggressive. They didn't swarm nor made any indication that they will, which frequent swarming is a trait of AHB. Claressa, I would say if you purchased a queen, from them, there is the possibility that you could acquire a queen that has beed bred with a AHB drone, but the risk probaly is not very great. There is a good chance you will get a queen which is resistance to mites and can survive without treatments.
Kindest Regards.
