To listen to Jims comments on the various Queen bees bred at the Apiculture bee breeding station please click on the following link -
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=4197&CID=59565
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* Buckfast X Cecropia *
BUCKFAST. A hybrid of several races, selected for gentleness, wintering, production and disease resistance. Our Buckfast Queens are the gentlest honeybees you will find. Not inclined to rob. They don’t run. Produce white capping. Fly in cooler weather than other bees. Pack brood nest with honey for good wintering. Curtail egg laying during dearths. Brood development starts in early spring, which affords the colony with a large population that is maintained until fall. They are excellent housekeepers, which aids in their control of wax moths and provides them with resistance to diseases .(Available only crossed with the Greek races with excellent results)
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Streaming video on mini nuclei -
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=15784&CID=59605
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* Apis mellifera Carnica *
The Carniolan bee of Slovenia and Austria is the nearest relative of the Italian, but it is darker, the characteristic yellow rings of Ligustica being replaced by dark bands. The Carnica territory covers a large area of south-eastern Europe, and there are numerous regional variations. The characteristic brood rhythm is a rapid build-up in spring, followed by a slow decline and an early cessation of brood rearing in the autumn. It is particularly suited to an early spring honey flow and the bees' flies in cool weather. It can survive hard winters with a small winter cluster. She packs brood nest with honey for good wintering. Produces combs with white cappings. Carniolan bees are more prone to swarming than Italian bees, but selective breeding can reduce this tendency.
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Streaming video on queen marking -
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=11822&CID=59606
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* Apis mellifera Caucasia *
The Caucasian bee closely resembles A. m. Carnica in general appearance, and may not be easily distinguished from the latter except by morphometric examination. A. M. Caucasia is autochthonous (the original sub-species) to the mountain range and southern valleys of the Caucasus, and to the eastern end of the Black Sea coast in Anatolia The Caucasian bee is noteworthy for the length of its proboscis, being the longest of all the mellifera races. Caucasians are considered the gentlest bee in the world. The abdominal bands in the queens have a wide range in colour from yellow and black to grey. Their plus qualities are wintering ability, reduced swarming tendency, adequate hive defence, minimum drifting and the production of beautiful white capping. The colony strength is slow in building and reaches its peak in mid summer. The bees have an inclination to utilize burr comb frequently. Brood rearing generally starts late and the spring, build-up is slow, leading to a medium population size in summer and autumn. Swarming tendency is low, and the number of swarm cells moderate. Caucasian bees are notorious for their heavy use of propolis, especially at the hive entrance. In winter the entrance may be almost completely closed by a curtain of resin, leaving only a few small holes for ventilation and flight activity. She combines very well with other races, particularly Carnica and Ligustica.
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Many hives over winter at ARTA with the milder temperatures providing a faster start to the season both for queen mating and honey forage.
October to December from the ericas and strawberry tree, early April the orange tree honey.
By mid June hives are moved from 40 degree temperatures to the cooler region of the Pindos mountains.
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=17046&CID=59612
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* Apis mellifera Cecropia - Macedonica *
Cecropia (west and south Greece) and Macedonica (east and north Greece) bee are the Greek bee races. Cecropia bee closely resembles A. m. Carnica in general appearance. Queens and drones are dark. The breeding of brood starts early in the spring and makes big colonies. Swarming tendency is high .Like Caucasia, Cecropia bees are notorious for their heavy use of propolis, at the hive entrance and inside the hive so they create problems to the handling of the combs. Honey cells are wet capped, i.e. there is no air space between the honey and the capping, and this may lead to "weeping" of the comb. She produces a lot of honey especially in early spring honey flows. The difference between Macedonica and Cecropia is that Macedonica is gentler as it is one of the nearest relatives of the Carniolan bees.
The Cecropia is ideal for use in breeding, passing on high fecundity without bad temper.
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The Pindos range provide cooler conditions during the summer for forage from Acacia, clovers and most importantly honeydew.
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=18788&CID=59621
A visit to the picturesque ZAGORIA
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=13289&CID=59622
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* Apis mellifera ligustica *
The Italian honeybee is the most widely distributed of all honeybees, and has proved adaptable to most climates from subtropical to cool temperate, but it is less satisfactory in humid tropical regions. Brood development starts in early spring, which affords the colony with a large population that is maintained until fall. They are excellent housekeepers, which aids in their control of wax moths and provides them with resistance to diseases. Aside from being industrious, they have a gentle nature and are able to adapt to climates with extreme temperatures. On the negative side, they are inclined to drift and have a high honey consumption, which requires ample stores for over-wintering.To combat this they can be reduced in strength to 6 frames in late Autumn. A.m.ligustica has a low swarming tendency. Italian bees are much more prone to drifting and robbing than the other principal races of Europe. Ligustica makes very big colonies and it is one of the most favourite bee for commercial honey producers. She doesn’t use a lot of propolis.
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From early April until mid May the island of Koronisia is used for queen mating.
This isolated spot sees over 100 mini nucs and some 10 hives of selected drones being changed to raise different races of bees.
Here is Zacharias at the island,
early June 2005 -
http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=18245&CID=59665
