[Jared.Downs]

Earlier in this year I lost a queen in one of my hives and to decrease potential after swarms, I split the parent hive up into 2 nucs and the parent hive. With 3 separate colonies in the end.

The two nucs were moved to another property. The queens emerged, both looked rather under sized but of Italian blood lines since that's the parent hive was an Italian package at the beginning of this summer.

These two nucs are building up much faster than the parent hive is which had more bees in it at the time of the split.

I noticed one of the nucs has two colored bees. One is the black and yellow (Italian-looking, see picture below) and the other is a black and white. Any thoughts on what other breed the queen might have mated with? This nuc is about 50% of each colored bees.

But the black and white bees are incredibly calm and gentle which is a big plus.

Any thoughts?

(What I'm refering to as black & white is the bee on the left. The black and yellow is on the right.

 

[Paul McCarty]

My hives have lot's of bees like those dark ones. Your queen probably got into some carnie or russian drones - or maybe even some AMM'ish bees. Probably carnies where you live.

 

[marshmasterpat]

Seems like if a queen mated just a very few times (or especially just a few times), I could see real easily where a queen might be mated to just a few light and few dark drones, making the ratio of lights and dark bees fairly close. I like the dark looking bees. Cool looking in my opinion.

 

[Jared.Downs]

@Paul McCarty-

Thanks for the response. Being that I'm so new to this, I hadn't a clue what the darker color indicates in terms of types of bees.



@marshmasterpat-

Thanks for the response. It's interesting to learn about how the might mate with a variety of drones.

Can / do queens ever make multiple mating flights? Or do they only take one mating flight when they're a few days old?

 

[Bill91143]

I'll bet your queen mated with some carnie drones. Probably no AMM blood if they are calm and gentle.

 

[Jared.Downs]

I'll bet your queen mated with some carnie drones. Probably no AMM blood if they are calm and gentle.

@Bill91143-

Both you and Paul McCarty referenced "AMM," though google searching it mentions "Apis mellifera mellifera." <--Is this what your referring to with "AMM?"

Do bees with AMM blood exhibit traits of aggression?

 

[Bill91143]

@Bill91143-

Both you and Paul McCarty referenced "AMM," though google searching it mentions "Apis mellifera mellifera." <--Is this what your referring to with "AMM?"

Do bees with AMM blood exhibit traits of aggression?

Yes, AMM is an abbreviation, they are also known as the German Black Bee. I have talked to several beeks that sell AMM bees and they all say they are not really aggressive, but are extremely defensive, and they tend to be runny.

 

[Lburou]

Jared, read about polyandry here. It is one of the ways bees keep the gene pool fresh.

 

[julysun]

Do queens let the sperm mix inside them or keep it separated?. Do workers come in waves from one male then another, or in a mix representing all drone contributors ? Seems I have read about this and forgotten.

 

[Michael Bush]

>Do queens let the sperm mix inside them or keep it separated?. Do workers come in waves from one male then another, or in a mix representing all drone contributors ?

In my observation it's neither one nor the other. A little of both. They mix to some degree, but sometimes you see a change over time in the color of a hive that would indicate there is some layering as well.

 

[Lauri]

I believe the semen from each drone is somewhat 'clumped'.

I grafted many batches this year from one of my favorite black queens. First batch was almost all blond. I was surprised. Next batch was all black. Subsequent batches were mostly dark, but all daughters resembled each other within each graft batch. So it seemed the queen would lay batches of eggs with the semen sample from a single drone.
I usually grafted from a small area on a frame if the larva is the right age. It was an interesting observaion. Perhaps something that should be kept in consideration when evaluating a queen for production type. Not to judge her in a single batch if grafts are taken from a small area. Better diversity if grafts are taken over different sections of the frame. But who knows how many eggs the 'clump' of semen will produce. A half frame? full frame? Several frames? LOL

If you look closely, you can see the small area I took grafts from the day before. (Upper right of the new area) They already rebuilt it and started queen cells from the broken down comb. ( I kept it in a queenless hive overnight for easy retrieval the next day)

 

[kyell]

Yes, AMM is an abbreviation, they are also known as the German Black Bee. I have talked to several beeks that sell AMM bees and they all say they are not really aggressive, but are extremely defensive, and they tend to be runny.

Bill91143,
Can you share the contact information on the beekeepers who sell AMM bees?
Thanks,
Kyle

 

[Bill91143]

Bill91143,
Can you share the contact information on the beekeepers who sell AMM bees?
Thanks,
Kyle

The breeders I talked to about AMMs was people that were breeding and selling J. N. Russell bees. They were the only ones actively advertising AMMs. I think they are now all tied up in bankruptcy court. I'm not sure if you can even make contact with any J. N. Russell breeders at this time.