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Author Topic: Survivor Queens  (Read 8831 times)

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Survivor Queens
« on: December 04, 2007, 04:02:13 am »
Just read the artile in Bee Culture about Survivor Bees Of The Olympic Peninsula and was glad to see an artical about Dan Harvey's queen operation.  That's where I get my queens from and found them to be very good.  Also the bit about Dan furnishing queens to the WZU ag program is true--I've got that from Dan Harvey and Steve Sheppard both.  His survivor queens were in the very few of the queens selected for trial to make it to the second phase which is desiminating the queens to beekeepers around the state--our local club maintains 10 hives with queens out of Dan's stock.
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Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2007, 05:34:50 pm »
Read the same article. I am fascinated by this survivior idea w/ genetics. I bought some of Purvis Brothers queens w/ same idea. Another article in one of this months mags talked about Dr. John Harbo opening up his own business. He appears to be the common thread w/ all of the hygenic, SMR, survivor queen rearers. From Spivak, Glenn  apiarires, B. Weaver, and purvis etc. The article says he will be hoping to develop his own line of queens. I will wait w/ baited breath for this breeder to get on-line. He was former gov't(USDA?) scientist who wrote numerous articles regarding thsi topic and genetic diversity.

One general question about this area however. are we trying to breed thoroubreds, or mutts? or thoroughbred mutts?
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Offline mudlakee

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2007, 05:57:23 pm »
Thoroughbred Mutts I hope. If you bred to tight you will have race horses and line breeding never works forever.  Tony

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2007, 12:16:26 am »
Read the same article. I am fascinated by this survivior idea w/ genetics. I bought some of Purvis Brothers queens w/ same idea. Another article in one of this months mags talked about Dr. John Harbo opening up his own business. He appears to be the common thread w/ all of the hygenic, SMR, survivor queen rearers. From Spivak, Glenn  apiarires, B. Weaver, and purvis etc. The article says he will be hoping to develop his own line of queens. I will wait w/ baited breath for this breeder to get on-line. He was former gov't(USDA?) scientist who wrote numerous articles regarding thsi topic and genetic diversity.

He's already in business, has been for several years.  Look in both ABJ and BC for Olympic Wilderness Apiary adds.  I buy my queens from him--I believe he ships every Thursday next day priority.

Quote
One general question about this area however. are we trying to breed thoroughbreds, or mutts? or thoroughbred mutts?

Thoroughbred mutts is the ideal.  Mix the strains and go for survivor traits.  Some will be proddy but can be omitted from further development, allthough I've found that proddy and hygenic seem to run together.
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Offline TwT

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2007, 02:01:06 am »
I think KONASDAD  was talking about Dr Harbo  :-D 

here they site Brain is talking about, I looked at their  site, a lot of info about their bee's

http://www.owa.cc/
THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 MONTHS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

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Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2007, 12:57:14 pm »
Yes I was referring to Dr. Harbo. The article about him is either in ABJ or BC Dec. issue. He seems to be a common link between many of the top queen breeders. The article says he will be opening his business soon. Shouild be a great future source i hope.
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Offline NWIN Beekeeper

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2008, 01:08:16 pm »
At Flippin' $25 per queen, she should fly her fat booty out of the hive and help with extracting and bottling in the fall too!

Hey, I'm all for beekeepers making a buck, but when you're not under $20/queen at Qty 50+ .... come on.

Geeze! Queens in my area are on honey vacation for 6 months out of the year here!
At $25 I think they could at least train them to knit socks or something.
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Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2008, 02:48:15 pm »
How many horses does it take to change a light bulb?

Thoroughbred: Who ME?? Do WHAT? I’m scared of light bulbs! I’m outta here!

Arabian: I changed it an hour ago… C’mon you guys - catch up!

Quarter Horse: Put all the bulbs in a pen and tell me which one you want.

Standardbred: Oh for Pete’s Sake, give me the darn bulb and let’s be done with it.

Shetland: Give it to me. I’ll kill it and we won’t have to worry about it anymore.

Friesian: I would, but I can’t see where I’m going from behind all this mane.

Belgian: Put the Shetland on my back, maybe he can reach it then.

Warmblood: Is the 2nd Level Instruction Packet in English? Doesn’t anyone realize that I was sold for $75K as a yearling, but only because my hocks are bad, otherwise I would be worth $100K? I am NOT changing lightbulbs. Make the TB get back here and do it.

Morgan: Me! Me! Me! Pleeease let me! I wanna do it! I’m gonna do it! I know how, really I do! Just watch! I’ll rewire the barn after, too.

Appaloosa: Ya’ll are a bunch of losers. We don’t need to change the lightbulb, I ain’t scared of the dark. And someone make that darn Morgan stop jumping up and down before I double barrel him.

Haflinger: That thing I ate was a lightbulb?

Mustang: Lightbulb? Let’s go on a trail ride, instead. And camp. Out in the open like REAL horses.

Lipizzaner: Hah, amateurs. I will change the lightbulb. Not only that, but I will do it while standing on my hind legs and balancing it on my nose, after which I will perform seven flying lead changes in a row and a capriole. Can you do that? Huh? Huh? Didn’t think so.

Miniature: I bet you think I can’t do it just cause I’m small. You know what that is? It’s sizeism!

Akhal Teke: I will only change it if it’s my owner’s lightbulb and no one else has ever touched it.

Andalusian: I will delegate the changing of the lightbulb to my personal groom after he finishes shampooing my mane and cleaning my saddle, but only on the condition that it is changed for a soft blue or green bulb, which reflects better off my coat while I exhibit my astonishing gaits.

Cleveland Bay: I’m busy. Make the whipper-in and the hounds do it.

Saddlebred: My ears are up already, please please get the lightbulb away from me! I’m ready to show, really, I promise I’ll win!

Paint: Put all the lightbulbs in a pen, tell me which one you want, and my owner will bet you twenty bucks I can get it before the quarter horse.

POA: I’m not changing it. I’m the one who kicked the old one and broke it in the first place, remember? Now, excuse me, I have a grain room to break into.

Grade Horse (aka mutt): Guys? Um, guys? I hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and changed it while you were all arguing.

http://bridlepath.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/how-many-horses-does-it-take-to-change-a-light-bulb/

Maybe mutts are the best anyway?
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Offline BMBeeFarm

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2008, 07:41:26 pm »
Good point with the horse thing MB.  Whats the best dog anyone has ever had?

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2008, 11:32:37 pm »
Good point with the horse thing MB.  Whats the best dog anyone has ever had?

Astralian Shepard/Border Collie Cross.  That dog was so smart it could do nearly anything I ever wanted it to.  It saved more than one child from being ran over by a car or falling down the stairs and I don't know how many times it got itself between a vicious dog and a toddler.
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #10 on: February 14, 2008, 10:33:05 am »
Michael, ah, that was so darn cute.  I am missing horses.  This is off topic, but the more I am reading about horses around here (and that isn't that much), I have a yearning to keep horses again.......oh no.....here we go again.  Have a beautiful, wonderful day, beautiful life.  Cindi
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Offline Moonshae

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2008, 09:54:45 pm »
Good point with the horse thing MB.  Whats the best dog anyone has ever had?
I have two greyhounds right now, and they're the friendliest, sweetest dogs anyone could ever want.
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Offline ooptec

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2008, 11:27:55 am »
I have a rottie-lab X and what a good X.

Stays at home, defensive only in yard and never taken after another dog - cat - whatever except to want to play.

All 110lbs of him

I'm a firm believer of F! hybrid vigor.

cheers

peter


Offline Cindi

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2008, 09:20:50 am »
Peter, we had a rottie/lab X, she looked more like the lab though, she was a beauty and yes, what a nice dog, we had to put her down last fall, my sad day, but that is OK, she had a wonderful and beautiful life, have a wonderful and beautiful life, love our life we live.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline adamf

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2008, 10:38:48 pm »
Hello,
Our breeding population is based on several "survivor" lines or types, the
USDA VSH/SMR that John Harbo developed being one. We've not treated for
nine years and we're seeing very good results.

Several other breeders are also doing this--initially the losses are high,
but then the population equalizes and selection can begin again. The VSH/SMR
stock works the best in a cross with other lines--pure VSH/SMR is almost too hygienic!
Some like a Carniolan crossed with VSH. Others, an Italian--we use both, Carniolan X VSH
and Minn Hygienic X VSH.

We're moving into a closed population breeding program because the chances
of reaching critical homozygosity with the sex alleles is great and this
can ruin a well established population--the closed population program keeps
the population's chances fo having diverse sex alleles much higher.
Instrumental insemination is used to control matings.

This is lots of work but the results are great--I thank John Harbo for his
efforts for discovering and developing the VSH lines--Jeffrey Harris is now
heading up the research program at the USDA in VSH work now.

Adam Finkelstein
info@vpqueenbees.com
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Offline bassman1977

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Re: Survivor Queens
« Reply #15 on: March 12, 2008, 02:01:46 pm »
Quote
Whats the best dog anyone has ever had?

I have a Border Collie.  She's 5 now.  Smartest dog I have ever seen.  I will always have a Border for dog as long as I have dogs.  My wife has a wiener dog.  He is smart as can be but the little SOB doesn't listen to save his life.
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