Bee breeds and how do I know what breed I have?

Started by Spear, April 16, 2014, 01:58:32 AM

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Spear

I got most of my bees from the widow of an old beekeeper but I was never told what breed they are. Is there a way I can easily tell what breed I have?
I would like to know in case I decide that queen breeding is the thing for me and I want to sell my queens. I'm sure most people would like to know what kind of queen they are getting or do you think they would buy queen of unknown breed if I can garantee that they are gentle and good producers?
Well if they are free mated I guess I could not garentee breed any way right?  :?  :?  :?

BumbbleBee

I don't know about breeds. You should know that the species Apis Cerana (which you are most unlikely to have, since you're from Deutschland) doesn't produce propolis. Pollen traps are not available for this species either.

RHBee

Quote from: Spear on April 16, 2014, 01:58:32 AM
I got most of my bees from the widow of an old beekeeper but I was never told what breed they are. Is there a way I can easily tell what breed I have?
I would like to know in case I decide that queen breeding is the thing for me and I want to sell my queens. I'm sure most people would like to know what kind of queen they are getting or do you think they would buy queen of unknown breed if I can garantee that they are gentle and good producers?
Well if they are free mated I guess I could not garentee breed any way right?  :?  :?  :?

Short of sending a sample to a genetics lab, there is no way I know of to be certain. Different races do exhibit different traits. Coloration would be the closest method I could come up with. More than likely you have Italian. As I understand it they have been the predominate european/worldwide race for a long while.
Later,
Ray