anyone use buckfast bees

wanabee · April 16, 2005, 08:19:41 PM

i get four packages of bees on april 30th They are buckfast bees. they are a hybred bee that are supposed to be winter hardy and mite resistant. I usually get italians but they were all out of them. they are pricier but i wanted to try them. has anyone used this type of bee before and what did you think of them?

thegolfpsycho · April 16, 2005, 09:55:47 PM

I've heard alot of praise for them over the years. Supposed to be a great bee. Supposedly, some of the one's coming out of TX are a bit hot. Keep an eye on them, expecially if they supercede.

Horns Pure Honey · April 16, 2005, 10:48:25 PM

My friend gets some the 25th, I will see what he knows about them, bye :D

Michael Bush · April 16, 2005, 11:20:47 PM

I had them from 1974 until 2002. Until 2001 they were great. Good wintering, good production, gentle. They are Tracheal mite resistant (I have not seen claims of Varroa mite resistance for Buckfasts in general). Mine went ballastic on me after they swarmed in a drought in August. Never seen such mean bees before, and I hope I don't see them again.

Jay · April 17, 2005, 04:57:28 PM

A woman in my club had them for two years and loved them! Great honey producers, etc. and then, like some of the posts you are hearing here, they turned so hot she said she had to kill the hive because she was worried about the neighbors, dogs, etc. I have no personal experience with them.

amymcg · April 18, 2005, 03:55:48 PM

I've read that after a few generations, the queens will make a hot hive. Something to do with the genetics and cross breeding, etc. . .

from what I've been told if you want to do buckfasts, you should re-queen often.

jjkhan · April 18, 2005, 05:45:41 PM

Generally Buckfast bees are very gentle and easy to handle but as all other bees they will get more agressive if they are allowed to change queens themselves. Change the queens every two years and you will have no problems.

Michael Bush · April 18, 2005, 05:59:41 PM

I let my Buckfasts requeen themselves ocassionally and bought new ones ocassionally, for decades with no problems with hot bees. The time I had a problem they were a little over a year old and they swarmed in a drought in August and then turned vicious. Hot is not adequate to describe them. The queens were not two years old.