Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,023
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
.
I have started to try Buckfast bees. My normal bee stock is Italian. I bought first buckfasts 4 years ago.
I started to buy Italians and Buckfast from 1000 hive owner 4 years ago, and I found them good. Not all were so profitable .
But now I have noticed how fast original features of Buckfast's vanish. F1 and half of genes us left on daughter's give. Then second generation, and it is not any more Buckfast.
I have not afford to make an own Buckfast mating station for few virgins.
My basic from environment is Italian. In outer apiaries Wild Carniolan (local!) is the most usual mating partner. Virgins are only spoiled if they mate on outer apiaries. And so so the supersedure Queens. They are swarmers.
More difficult is to see, what happens to selectected Italian stock. Italians are many.
I would say that there are Italian X Italian mongrels too. IT comes from selected x unselected stocks. Difficult to see from colors, what happened on sky.
I learned to like Buckfast, but it seems, that are difficult to keep on on Italian environment. To keep 10-20 Buckfast hives is not enough to save good genes of Buckfast.
I have started to try Buckfast bees. My normal bee stock is Italian. I bought first buckfasts 4 years ago.
I started to buy Italians and Buckfast from 1000 hive owner 4 years ago, and I found them good. Not all were so profitable .
But now I have noticed how fast original features of Buckfast's vanish. F1 and half of genes us left on daughter's give. Then second generation, and it is not any more Buckfast.
I have not afford to make an own Buckfast mating station for few virgins.
My basic from environment is Italian. In outer apiaries Wild Carniolan (local!) is the most usual mating partner. Virgins are only spoiled if they mate on outer apiaries. And so so the supersedure Queens. They are swarmers.
More difficult is to see, what happens to selectected Italian stock. Italians are many.
I would say that there are Italian X Italian mongrels too. IT comes from selected x unselected stocks. Difficult to see from colors, what happened on sky.
I learned to like Buckfast, but it seems, that are difficult to keep on on Italian environment. To keep 10-20 Buckfast hives is not enough to save good genes of Buckfast.
Last edited: