The Buckfast bees have caught my attention and I would like to know some more about them before taking the dive. I did a search on this forum for them and saw some posts about them getting hot after a couple of years, does this still happen? Where is a good place to purchase them or is weaver the only place worth while?
Thanks for the help,
Scott..
Scott,
I have 3 Buckfast hives. 2 of the 3 are hot. I was told that they were a very gentle bee and easy to work with. Being new to the game, I got them without looking at other breads and they were the only ones that I could get locally. They built up fast and have been worth the money BUT they can be moody. I have had them attack when I was working with a hive that was next to them. The 1 that is calm, I can work them without protection, on a good day. The rest of my yard is made up of Italians, which from what I have found, are alot easier to deal with. I like the Buckfast bees because they keep me on my toes. When ever I get a little overcompitant, they bring me back to reality. So, I hope that this has been a little help in your choice of bees to get. Is this your first hive? Good luck
Marcus
I have a few hives of Buckfast that I got last year. 1 is hot and 2 are gentle. The hot one became that way after being superseded. I do not think I have enough data to really prove out that it became hot just because of being Buckfast. I plan on requeening the hot one in the spring.
I have Buckfast bees from rweaver. I've had them for three years now. They weren't real fast to build up, but once they got going they have produced very well. I haven't noticed them becoming ill tempered. They are fairly easy to work. They are very hygienic, and I have had no trouble with mites or diseases (knock wood). ( I do medicate for tracheal mites, nosema, and use powdered sugar shakes for varroa.) They do love to swarm no matter what I do to try to prevent it. Fortunately their favorite place to swarm is a dwarf apple tree so they are easy to catch!
http://www.buckfast.org.uk/site.php?use=bees
Hope this helps.
.......JP
I started out with a hive of them and they swarmed on me the first season. It was my fault though because they built up fast and ran out of room. I was able to capture the swarm and make a new hive. Both are doing very well and that was three years ago. The seem to be even tempered until you take honey...LOL.
David
Hello depence. Where in NE Missouri are you located? Also where did you get your Buckfast bees? I am in Louisiana south of Hannibal.
Thanks
DennisB
We are east of Mobelry, MO. I got them from Weavers.
Thanks for all the replies, I think I'll stick with my Rusians for now and if I get another it will probably be Italians.
Scott..
>The Buckfast bees have caught my attention and I would like to know some more about them before taking the dive. I did a search on this forum for them and saw some posts about them getting hot after a couple of years, does this still happen? Where is a good place to purchase them or is weaver the only place worth while?
I had them from 1974 until 2001 (from Weavers and then BWeavers). I liked them a lot until they went psycho in 2001. I don't expect to try any again unless I can get them from somewhere North of Texas.
you might find this interesting if you want some Buckfast that aren't from texas, if you want the real thing , read this below and see if you can get with them and get a few, here is a message a friend sent me about them...... I am getting 5-10 , they will probably cost around 25-30 bucks each maybe a little less but thats what I was told to expect
Hi, Ted, this guy Mr. Ferguson from Canada is great to deal with. We ended up putting everybody's order together to get to 100 queens. He has to drive them to the border with all the paperwork since last year they were held up at the border until they were all dead! When he gets them across the line, he goes to a UPS store & ships them overnight.
The good news is, we have invited him to come on Saturday, July 12th, 2008 to speak at the Heartland Apiculture Society meeting [www.heartlandbees.com] in Huntington, WV at Marshall University.
He is bringing as many Buckfast queens as we want with him for sale. If you are coming up here to the meeting, we can let him know how many you want [or even just one if that's all you want to have].
I hope that helps. I have only had these Buckfast since last July but they seem to be good bees. There are only 3 breeders who have the original stock now that Brother Adam is dead and Buckfast Abbey has stopped producing them. Ferguson is one of the remaining breeders of the pure Buckfast.
This is a great topic. I had bought 3 Buckfast packages from Weaver this past spring. 1 of which absconded a day after I released the queen. The other two are too hot to care to keep. Also neither of the two hot ones produced any honey at all this past season. After speaking with a few experts they believe they have the africanized genetics which is what causes all the above.
This spring I am going in on hunter killer mode for the queens and turning both colonies into mating NUCs. I did consider buying a NUC from the guy in Canada. However then I started thinking about that entire concept of Buckfast bees. They were bred specifically for the wet cool weather of England. Here in western Missouri it has never really been wet and cool for very long, more like hot and dry most of the bees are working. I think I am more apt to stay away from the Buckfast hybrid unless I move to England.
Anywhere with harsh winters, the Buckfasts seem to do well.
As far as getting some from Canada, as I understand it Mr. Fergeson is going to be a the HAS (Heartland Apiculture Society) meeting with lots of queens for sale. That way he can import a bunch at one time and sell them to lots of people. The paperwork for importing queens from Canada is very cumbersome.
One can rationalize how it is possible that some africianization traits could be passed on regardless of how well things are checked and controlled. I asked the question to the state biologist one time whether or not he thought africanized bees could exist in northern Missouri, there was no answer. Hummm. I think most beekeepers look for what works for them. Everyone certainly has different experiences. :-D
David
You should ask the state biologist if he/she has worked with AHB in the past and know for sure they can't exist. That is almost like saying SHB can't exist in Missouri because it is found in warm wet areas like Georgia.
I would bet the few commercial guys bring back AHB from california when their colonies swarm during the Almond pollination.
Quote from: BMAC on January 31, 2008, 01:17:55 PM
I would bet the few commercial guys bring back AHB from california when their colonies swarm during the Almond pollination.
Exactly, I agree. Regardless of what we do, there will be some queens that meet up with AHB drones. Like anything in life, we just have to deal with the cards we are dealt. Who knows I may have a hive of hot bees this season.
David
divide and conquer.
Quote from: BMAC on January 31, 2008, 01:17:55 PM
You should ask the state biologist if he/she has worked with AHB in the past and know for sure they can't exist. That is almost like saying SHB can't exist in Missouri because it is found in warm wet areas like Georgia.
I would bet the few commercial guys bring back AHB from california when their colonies swarm during the Almond pollination.
they say there is no AFB in Ga. http://www.gabeekeeping.com/ahb.htm
Quote from: TwT on January 31, 2008, 01:43:35 AM
you might find this interesting if you want some Buckfast that aren't from texas, if you want the real thing , read this below ...
Hi, Ted, this guy Mr. Ferguson from Canada is great to deal with. We ended up putting everybody's order together to get to 100 queens. He has to drive them to the border with all the paperwork since last year they were held up at the border until they were all dead! When he gets them across the line, he goes to a UPS store & ships them overnight.
...
I just talked to Mr. Ferguson myself. He has found a broker to get shipments over the border with a lot less delays. He said queens should be ready first or second week of June.
Quote from: MBrowne on February 13, 2008, 11:58:52 PM
Quote from: TwT on January 31, 2008, 01:43:35 AM
you might find this interesting if you want some Buckfast that aren't from texas, if you want the real thing , read this below ...
Hi, Ted, this guy Mr. Ferguson from Canada is great to deal with. We ended up putting everybody's order together to get to 100 queens. He has to drive them to the border with all the paperwork since last year they were held up at the border until they were all dead! When he gets them across the line, he goes to a UPS store & ships them overnight.
...
I just talked to Mr. Ferguson myself. He has found a broker to get shipments over the border with a lot less delays. He said queens should be ready first or second week of June.
did you get the contact info for the broker?
Quote from: TwT on February 14, 2008, 08:14:41 AM
did you get the contact info for the broker?
You can contact Bill or Rosemary Ferguson at 519-236-4979 or email
[email protected]
I worked at Buckfast Abbey for a year and those hives that still had Brother Adam's lines were a delight to work with. But, as with all 'pure strains', once they have crossed out with almost anything else, they can turn very nasty.
There are several places in Europe where Buckfast bees are still bred properly and they are still (according to the beeks there) as good as gold. Unfortunately, since Peter Donovan's retirement, the breeding program at the Abbey has fallen apart and they have many hives that are very hot.
I understand that Weavers in Texas had a franchise to breed Buckies, but stopped paying their royalties some years back. If their bees are now hot, it probably means they have not done the job properly.
The class I took last weekend the instructor recommended Buckfast bees from R Weaver over any other. I had already reserved my package and queen of Italian bees from R Weaver and decided to stick with that. He also insisted you re-queen every year to keep the hive strong enough to ward off disease and pests.
Is this common practice to re-queen annually? Or is this how he keeps his Buckfasts from getting "hot"
Quote from: sarafina on March 23, 2008, 01:23:20 AM
The class I took last weekend the instructor recommended Buckfast bees from R Weaver over any other. I had already reserved my package and queen of Italian bees from R Weaver and decided to stick with that. He also insisted you re-queen every year to keep the hive strong enough to ward off disease and pests.
Is this common practice to re-queen annually? Or is this how he keeps his Buckfasts from getting "hot"
If you raise them without chemicals and have allowed them to regress to natural, small cell, a queen can be fertile for many yrs, according to Don, aka fatbeeman. He does a once a yr test using a single empty shallow frame in the brood nest. If the bees draw straight comb with all worker cells, good queen. If they build cross comb or make lots of drone comb in this frame, which is placed in the middle of the broodnest, bad queen replace. Don's queens and M.B.'s have been known to be fertile for 4yrs sometimes more. In ahb areas, mark your queens.
...JP
>Is this common practice to re-queen annually?
A lot of beekeepers do. A lot of beekeepers don't.
>Or is this how he keeps his Buckfasts from getting "hot"
Probably.
nc beekeeper have u got pure russians ? if so how did thay do for u last year ? do thay build up good in spring. i have a 3 ib. pkg comeing with a russian Q .i am in south west VA.
Hey Hardtime,
I was having trouble pulling this site up so I was not able to reply to you. I am very happy with my Russians and have had no problems with them "HOT", they seem to build up fast and start flying here around 49-50 degrees.
Good luck with your package and let me know if you having any more questions.
Scott..