Does anyone has Caucasian bees ? What kind of experience do you have with them ? They have the longest tongue. Is it an advantage comparing Italian bees in your ares?
All of my bees are various shades of orangish-brown, with a few black ones mixed in. No Caucasians! :mrgreen: :-D
They are more honey conserving, they winter in smaller clusters and demand less sugar syrup. They also build up fast for black locus in the spring. The queen doesn't produces eggs when there is no honey flow unlike the Italian which can starve itself even during the spring-summer period.
I am speaking of the real Caucasian- 100% that we have here.
Where is "here"?
My bees are a mixture of several kinds, just mutts. I left some supers on last fall, they hadn't made enough honey last year to take any. When it got warm enough for first inspection this year, running no excluders, one colony had 19 frames of brood. I don't think I want some that would build up faster. They build up quick enough you do splits to keep them from swarming. Good luck to you and your bees.
Joe
There are a few breeders of caucasians left from what I can gather, I actually am in the process of ordering 2 queens out of Oregon for splits. Once they get here they may be caucasians for a while but will be mutts in the end. That said, Mutts with Caucasian blood. Just wanted to try them out. G :chop: