Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Rich V on March 09, 2005, 11:15:29 pm
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Of the two which are more gentle, Carnolians or the Italians?
Rich V.
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My experience has taught me to believe that true carnolians are much more gentle than most italians. That said, I've seen carnolians that were as mean as africans and italians as gentle as any. Many who breed queens market them as a specific breed when in fact they are selling hybrids that even they may not be able to identify. Any queen that is naturally bred in flight can produce a cross of what ever type of drone she breeds with and very few breeders can control that variable with any degree of certainty. Good Luck.
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I am getting Italians which will be here in 2 weeks!!!! SO HAPPY, BYE :D :D :D
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I am getting Italians which will be here in 2 weeks!!!! SO HAPPY, BYE :D :D :D
I just saved a bunch of $$$$ on my car insurance
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bahahahahahahahaha you go robo!!
It's hard to go wrong starting out with Italians. In general they are calm and easy to work They are good comb builders. They build up well, go into winter with a large cluster, and don't shut down brood rearing during a few days of bad weather. As predictable as bees ever get, and a great bee to start with.
Carnolians seem a good bee to graduate to. They build up fast, and appear to winter with less stores. It is claimed they work in cooler weather. Along with fast buildup comes greater swarm control efforts. I have no experience with them, but have heard they sometimes shutdown brood rearing a bit soon, or during a few days of bad weather.
Personally, I like a large standing army, ready to fly off and do battle...errr.... gather nectar
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Personally, I like a large standing army, ready to fly off and do battle...errr.... gather nectar
And eat stores...
I don't see that much difference in temperament. A gentle hive of bees is nice. A hot hive of bees is not. Regardless of race. The Carnis cut back a lot smaller in a dearth and over winter and use a lot less stores.
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Over the years, people have refered to the Italian bees as hogs at the trough. They do eat alot maintaining the large populations, which is something to consider if you have more than a few colonys. In general, beekeeping isn't a cheap hobby to get started in.
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Sweet come back robo, lmao, bye :lol:
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Next year I will add on another 10 - 12 hive and I will go with carns. Im going to try and use them to catch a real early flow. I like my Italians Some of them I never smoke they are gental and I work them with only a veil. then other hive I get all suited up and smoke them. I think they are a lot like people. exp Some are mean, some are nice. Then all the workers just fit in So a ill queen = mean bee's, and a nice queen = nice bee's. This is my out look.
i think it has to do with what kinda pollen they are getting also. I have some have's on a large wild flower field and they are always mean.
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Next year I will add on another 10 - 12 hive and I will go with carns. Im going to try and use them to catch a real early flow.
If you feed Italians with pollen+soya+yeast, they develope as early as Carnians to catch early flow. I have done that 12 years, and I did not see difference with Italians and Carnians. Also insulated deeps has great influence on early raising of colony. - But you must try, so you know.