Good morning from the land Downunder! i was just wondering if anybody has worked Carniolan X Italian Bees before? What were your thoughts? I'm picking up an 8 frame hive with a new season queen (she was laying on the outside frames as the rest were full!) on the weekend... can't wait! We're coming up to winter now so i'm thinking i might have to feed through so that there are enough stores to keep the colony through winter... the guy i am buying it from suggested i put another super on top in a week or two coz he said the hive has been going crazy drawing comb and gathering food... can't wait till we have a full flow in spring! it will be nuts :-D
My first bees were last year, I bought 2 nucs of them and they were very gentle, I also got 2 frames of honey (leaving them with 6 with honey +2 just getting drawn) from one of them. One group is still exceptionally gentle, and the other one is only a little less gentle - Id definitely get them again.
I purchased a Corniolan Queen one year. Her bees were very gentle.
All my other bees were From Ferrel stock. Her offspring produced very aggressive bees.
I didn't try a second and/or third breeding. :)doak
Quote from: doak on March 22, 2010, 10:29:42 PM
I purchased a Corniolan Queen one year. Her bees were very gentle.
All my other bees were From Ferrel stock. Her offspring produced very aggressive bees.
I didn't try a second and/or third breeding. :)doak
Could that be because her offspring bred with feral drones (or do you mean the first generation workers she produced)?
I have Italain and Carniolan bees 10 years and theirs crossings.
They were OK but I gived up because Carniolan were eager to swarm.
First swarmed pure Carniolans. Nothing can stop their aims.
2 weeks later swarmed the crossings
and after 4 weeks started Italian make queen cells.
ยจ
I returned to Italian bees. But it is not easy to find non swarmy Italian stock either. However Italians are easier to nurse. I am surrounded by Italian drones by other beekeepers..
Her first generation workers were very gentle. No gloves working them.
I think most of the Ferrel stock in my area is is from Italian. Some black bees but not as many. :)doak