>Michael,
A b supplier tols me that I shold avoid buying bees of any breed that are raised anywhere in the South or in California.He feels those areasare where most of the problems are (Africanization, mites,disease, CCD, etc. )and it would be best to buy from a Northern stae like Michigan, Wisconsin, New England area. This woul appear to contradict the idea o local bees in regard t the bees we get from Texas for Oklahoma.
Any thoughts? I am going to be buying some bees next spring, probably about 20 more hives.
Hopeful raises a very good point about his concerns of attaining bees with ahb traits. I can't speak for Michael but I think his question is significant that we give feedback.
My .02, Hopeful, I get calls from the phone book, La Beekeepers, our Agricultural Department, Pest control companies, and various parish entities. If you were interested in performing cutouts in your area and got the word out through whatever means, you will come across people who have had hives in structures or trees, etc...You can then go see the hives or question them over the phone with very specific questions to get an overview about the bees disposition. You can take some bees and send them to your state agricultural department to get the bees tested for AHB traits. If they test out negative for AHB, you have just got yourself fantastic local stock.