Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Buzzen on May 07, 2009, 09:46:51 pm
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What strain of bees would you recommend for a beginner? Is one type easier to deal with and care for than another? Italians----Carnolians-----Russians (choices, choices.)
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Italians! Very common breed and gentle. You also can get a lot of help with questions!
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I only have experience with Italians - which are very calm and docile, and are going great guns here.
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This is a question you won't get a real answer too !
Everyone will say theirs is BEST [ even if they don't have any ] !!
Best bet in my opinion, is find yourself a good LOCAL breeder who is satisfied with his bees.
Make your own choice, and remember to take information you receive on inter-net boards with a grain or two of salt !!
What works for me in my area, might not be worth a darn for you and were you live.
Oh, I have Russians, and am satisfied.
Bee-Bop
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I also have Italians. They have been very prolific and gentle.
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all of mine are wild caught. love those wild bees! and cant beat the cost.
bailey
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I'm not sure I care for strained bees...
I've heard somewhere, recently, that italians are nice starter bees. (I got italian/ carniolan mutts[probably] and I don't have enough experience yet to swear that it's true) - the bees I was first introduced to were italians.
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All the races of bees have slightly different traits. Some are better for cold weather, some are more prolific, some are more hygenic. Some swarm quicker, some produce more propolis.
The italians are good overall bees. That is why they are the most popular.
Any race can be nice or mean, just depends on what is in the bloodlines.
Rick
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Best bet in my opinion, is find yourself a good LOCAL breeder who is satisfied with his bees.
I second the motion for locally-raised bees, adapted to your particular climate.
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I don't think the race matters much. However, you should start with a couple hives of the same race. That way there are fewer variables when comparing hives.
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I started with 2 hives of Russians and have had a great experience with them.
Not what the bee club would have recommended, in fact they recommended italians but I was not interested in them so did my own thing and have been happy with them.
I also have 2 nucs each of New World Carniolans and Purvis Goldline on their way as well as some mutts.
BUT, all of these are overwintered stock from my area, that was the key thing in my decision.
Everyone is going to have their own opinion, I would suggest that you find out what you can get for stock raised in your own area and then decide on race from there.
After you find out what is available locally then you can go online and look up information for those particular races but you are probably just better off picking the brains of the producers selling these bees in regards to their particular traits.
As someone said genetics makes a big difference in within each race.
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I also got New World Carniolans since I live in Chicago and I think they will winter better here. So far I have hived them and took the top cover off to give them some more sugar water and have yet to be bumped or stung without and protective clothing. This might change since I will be doing my first hive inspection in a little while. :evil:
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Wouldn't know mine are crossed with just a little of everything. Or at least that's what i suspect. Local beekeepers are a good start to find the type of bees that work good for your area. That's where i got my start and i like the bees i got like i say all i know is they are muts though. Got some russian packages in and installed them this week won't be able to tell ya anything about them till later in the year.
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I also have 2 nucs each of New World Carniolans and Purvis Goldline on their way as well as some mutts.
I think you will really like those Goldlines Natalie, all 8 of my hives are Goldline. :-D
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Well thats good news! :-D
I don't know anyone else who has them but a local beekeeper had some nucs for sale so I went online and looked up what I could about them. They seem like a great choice.
I'm excited to try them.
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Research the different breeds and pick out the one for your climate and style of beekeeping.
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Any race of bees can be gentle. Any race of bees can be hot. You want gentle bees. :)
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I have feral mutts from out of town and russians. I like them both. All I have heard is no german black bees... I was told they were mean cusses. My advise, for what it's worth, is, like stated earlier, study the various breed characteristics and get some gentle bees.
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Free Bees if you can find them :-D
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After some more research, I'm leaning towards carnies. Supposed to be better for long, hard winters.
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What strain of bees would you recommend for a beginner? Is one type easier to deal with and care for than another? Italians----Carnolians-----Russians (choices, choices.)
Honey bees, definately start with honey bees... yellow jackets just aren't as much fun! :-D
That was silly of me, sorry... seriously though, I've always been told that mutt bees from feral stock are the best.