Author Topic: Different type of bees (Read 7590 times)

Sydney guy · « **on:** October 16, 2015, 08:18:57 pm »

Hi everyone, just interested in the different bees everyone has. Italians seem to be everyones choice and the ones I picked but I did try to get a Cordovan package just none available. What are peoples experiences with other types of bees?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

mikecva · « **Reply #1 on:** October 17, 2015, 01:44:02 pm »

Please update your profile to include your town and state. This will help us help you.

I have mostly Russian with a few colonies of Italian bees. Both are well behaved because I follow the simple rules of bee keeping. (do not go into the hive unless I need to and then keep my visit short because I go in with a plan. -Mike

yantabulla · « **Reply #2 on:** October 18, 2015, 04:20:16 am »

My guess he is from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

OldMech · « **Reply #3 on:** October 18, 2015, 05:17:28 pm »

Where I live, i have had bad luck with italian package bees, too cold for too long. My best luck has been with the darker Carniolan bees, and most definitely with locally bred bees from hives that have successfully overwintered. Different bees have different traits, but my advice is to find someone keeping bees as near you as possible, and buy nucs, or a split from their bees.

Sydney guy · « **Reply #4 on:** October 18, 2015, 10:20:29 pm »

Yantabulla you guessed right I'm from Sydney, Australia.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Sydney guy · « **Reply #5 on:** October 18, 2015, 10:23:55 pm »

Mikecva do you notice any difference in behavior between italian and russian?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

yantabulla · « **Reply #6 on:** October 19, 2015, 04:00:24 am »

Thanks Sydney Guy. Now the Americans can help you

amun-ra · « **Reply #7 on:** October 20, 2015, 07:51:42 pm »

Syd guy go into your profile and put in Sydney Australia them we don't need to guess.

Sydney guy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 20, 2015, 10:50:17 pm »

I can't update my profile because im new.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Dallasbeek · « **Reply #9 on:** October 21, 2015, 06:34:09 pm »

Sure you can. Click on home, then on Profile, then on Modify Profile. If you have a problem, just ask and somebody will help you.

buzzbee · « **Reply #10 on:** October 21, 2015, 08:06:48 pm »

I took care of it.
I kinda figured Sydney guy posting in the downunder forum was likely from Sydney Australia.

Dallasbeek · « **Reply #11 on:** October 21, 2015, 08:54:19 pm »

You may be right, Buzzbee, about tapatalk. I don't use it, so didn't think of that possibility.

Gary

Sydney guy · « **Reply #12 on:** October 22, 2015, 03:46:44 am »

Thank you buzzbee

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

Geoff · « **Reply #13 on:** October 22, 2015, 06:41:20 pm »

Whenever you want help Sydney guy just buzz Buzzbee or everyone else on the Forum.

mikecva · « **Reply #14 on:** October 23, 2015, 12:17:26 pm »

The Russians are slower to build up but once there they have been great honey producers. I have found the Russians also seam to tolerate the winter better. -Mike

Ed Gallop · « **Reply #15 on:** November 12, 2015, 12:09:07 am »

There are so many different subspecies and mixed breeds that I'm not sure what I have. I started out with Italians and like them just fine.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 12, 2015, 01:08:37 pm »

Quote from: buzzbee on October 21, 2015, 08:06:48 pm

I took care of it.
I kinda figured Sydney guy posting in the downunder forum was likely from Sydney Australia.

The problem is that he is typing up side down.

Jim

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 12, 2015, 01:09:42 pm »

Mine are just local Mutts. They seem to survive the best on their own.
Jim

dunderi · « **Reply #18 on:** November 12, 2015, 07:31:54 pm »

I'm down in TAS, and there's a couple blokes here keep Italians (and there's one who sells Queens but his Italians are one breeding a season, limited availability)

however the local season seems to produce many swarms of very dark colored, and often "less than friendly" wild/feral/forest types of bees - they're very hardy, they're more aggressively defensive than the sweet Italians, and they go head to head with the wasps day-in-day out.

so local bees, especially feral swarm-bred for survivability - and re-queen with a lovely calm Italian queen to calm them down is how I'm choosing to go :)

Dallasbeek · « **Reply #19 on:** November 12, 2015, 07:37:56 pm »

Remember that soon as the feral bees die off, you'll have a hive full of Italian and whatever she mated with. Mutts.

dunderi · « **Reply #20 on:** November 12, 2015, 07:54:29 pm »

Quote from: Dallasbeek on November 12, 2015, 07:37:56 pm

Remember that soon as the feral bees die off, you'll have a hive full of Italian and whatever she mated with. Mutts.

exactly :)

Richard M · « **Reply #21 on:** January 06, 2016, 02:08:06 am »

Three of our hives are all Italians, the other is a swarm hive with a fairly dark queen and mainly dark workers, but this hive is the pick of the bunch, so on the theory that it might be Caucasian, I'm about to requeen another one with a Caucasian to see how they go.

Put an order in with John Covey in Qld today - can't seem to find queens available for sale in Tas this year.

Honeycomb king · « **Reply #22 on:** January 11, 2016, 05:38:05 pm »

Got to agree with "oldmech". Go local. Anyway you can, swarm, splits, purchased queens, neucs etc.