Getting new Genes

[drex]

My wife, bless her, not knowing my opinion on importing bees, has told me she has ordered two buckfast queens for my birthday.
Until now I have reared my own queens, selecting from the best and culling the worst. So my bees are mongrels.
My current bees are all very gentle. I have heard second generation Buckfasts can be temperamental, so am a bit concerned about adding these genes to my gene pool.
I shall enjoy these bees but would appreciate your views

 

[pargyle]

There is some apocryphal evidence that second generation buckfasts can regress and become less manageable but I'm not sure whether this is not another beekeeping myth that has proliferated from some events that some beekeepers have experienced at some point. As far as I am aware there is no hard scientific evidence for why this should happen.

Let's face it .. Buckfasts are mongrels - they may have been well bred mongrels and have some wonderful traits bred into them but they are a mixture. If you think about it .. when ANY of our bees are open mated they are going to be exposed to whatever the local drone pool has to offer. If there's an agressive gene in the drone pool then you have a possibility that it will emerge in your stock.

Accept the Buckies from your wife for what they are .... usually, gentle, productive bees that are nice to work with. Worry about what happens in the future if it happens .... if subsequent breeding results in less friendly stock - there's an easy solution. Re-queen the colony with a known gentle queen - even if you have to buy one in.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have kept Buckfast since my first queen from hivemaker in 2009. I do keep black….ish bees too. I’ve never had a problem with their offspring behaviour so go for it. Sort out problems If they arise. I only once had an early imported Buckie and the bees killed her.

 

[Finman]

Two buckfast hives will not spoil your apiary.
It is inyeresting to you to compare your recent bees. There are many kind of Buckfasts in Europe.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just make sure they are good Buckfast....because they do vary

 

[jeff33]

Yes, go for them. I had a 'mixed race' dedicated apiary where I kept aF1 buckfast from Hivemaker (superceded in her first full year), a buckfast swarm and a couple of carnies from B+. This was miles away from my queen rearing apiary which has only black bees, mongrels for most. The Buckies didn't do well for me, the last 2 hives I had didn't make it through this winter due to queens failing.
I have had terrible F2s from black bees and carnies so as Pargyle mentioned, it is probably down to the drone pool they are exposed to, although regression of F1 genes will be unavoidable with any new generation.

 

[Wilco]

I think that's a very kind and thoughtful gift from your OH though. Hope they do well for you.

 

[Boston Bees]

A very good example of why spouses buying each other presents is usually a total waste of time and money, if not worse than that

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

A very good example of why spouses buying each other presents is usually a total waste of time and money

That's why I never bother - it's for her own good in the end

 

[jeff33]

That's why I never bother - it's for her own good in the end

Just keep arguing that you are the best present she has ever had/will have.....

 

[drex]

Thank you all. If I do get bad bees as a result of crosses, they can be culled just as my home reared bad queens are.
She did do her homework ( surprised, as she knows little about bees) and by luck the bees will be coming from a well respected commercial beekeeper,who posts often on this forum

 

[Amari]

That's why I never bother - it's for her own good in the end

A nice box of chocolates with a red ribbon works wonders, timed to coincide with the delivery of your new extractor......

 

[pargyle]

That's why I never bother - it's for her own good in the end

You are very brave when she's not listening... what about the string dispenser then - was that a moment of weakness or a hint ?

 

[pargyle]

I think that's a very kind and thoughtful gift from your OH though. Hope they do well for you.

And if they attack everything in sight and turn into the bees from hell .... It's not YOUR fault ... wish I could persuade 'er indoors to buy me queens ... she won't even look at the ones that I buy !

 

[elainemary]

A very good example of why spouses buying each other presents is usually a total waste of time and money, if not worse than that

I like to give ‘direction’ a couple of months in advance! I’m quite a good present chooser