I love mine too -- they range from more or less Italian colored to black with gray stripes (many local feral bees have that coloring). They are making honey like crazy, are easy to handle, and were free from a swarm -- a huge one.
They kept their swarm queen over the first winter and superceded her last spring, current queen is laying like a machine gun. Best bees going so far as I'm concerned, piffle to fancy purchased queens, I want more of these!
Local bees that survive and swarm are usually good bees. We have a pollen and nectar dearth in August and September nearly every year, and if the queen doesn't shut down brood production, the hive will eat all it's winter stores and starve out, particularly form lack of pollen. Local bees do, most purchased Southern queens make much more brood in the dearth and require feeding for the hive to make it through the winter.
Besides, swarms are cheap!
Peter
Peter
They kept their swarm queen over the first winter and superceded her last spring, current queen is laying like a machine gun. Best bees going so far as I'm concerned, piffle to fancy purchased queens, I want more of these!
Local bees that survive and swarm are usually good bees. We have a pollen and nectar dearth in August and September nearly every year, and if the queen doesn't shut down brood production, the hive will eat all it's winter stores and starve out, particularly form lack of pollen. Local bees do, most purchased Southern queens make much more brood in the dearth and require feeding for the hive to make it through the winter.
Besides, swarms are cheap!
Peter
Peter