Queen rearing. Choice of breeeder queens
rath...@gmail.com
Am looking for suggestions on Breeder queens to select for the coming season. I am small with 20 hives and am not sure that my numbers are high enough to just select from my own stock. I have been buying Russian queens and 2 years ago bought a VSH X Minnesota Hygenic Breeder from Glenn. I'm torn between another Russian or a Carniolan or maybe VSH. I still treat for mites with formic and am not ready to go with the survival of the fittest program. Any thoughts on the merits of the different breeds considering that my drones are quite heavily Russian. Thanks
Jack Rath
West Pawlet VT
within a mile of upstate NY
jw...@cornell.edu
Peter L Borst
> Any thoughts on the merits of the different breeds considering that my drones are quite heavily Russian.
You put me in a difficult position here. Tom Glenn and I have been
friends since the seventies and I think he is one of the most
experienced and knowledgeable queen breeders there is. I would not
hesitate to recommend his stock. However, as you are in Vermont, I
would suggest a cooperative approach with queen breeders in your area,
such as Kirk Webster or Mike Palmer. They have been working for years
to develop bees suited to that particular region and climate.
Following the advice of Charlie Mraz, one would raise queens from
colonies that thrive under the conditions that your bees will
encounter. This is simply my opinion and if you have had good results
with the bees you have purchased then I would also suggest that would
be worth continuing.
--
Peter L Borst
Room T3 001
Vet Research Tower
Cornell University
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/plb6