Newbie and ordering Bees, Italian or Russian? Whats better?

[longrangedog]

BEE CULTURE magazine June 2009 issue: "The most effective method to combat Varroa mites is to use honey bees that are resistent to Varroa mites. They exist. You can buy them. You can make them. They are Russians. They are the survivors. They are hygenic. They are better than the rest. If these bees aren't in your colonies, on your list to buy, on the way to your colonies today...then you are on the list of those who are on the way out. That we continue to pour poison into our boxes when we could be pulling pure and perfect honey out of them instead is amazing. It boggles the mind that this industry hasn't adopted these bees yet." Kim Flottum, editor

'Nuff said. Time to get on board.

[troutstalker2]

  I started with Russians and they were so aggressive I could hardly work them. I know other people have different experiences with Russians, but these were so mean the would sting you if you got within 15 feet of the hive. I did actually re queen with new Russian queens (2 hives) and hardly noticed any change. It just turned me off to them. Maybe someday I will try them again. I switched to Italians and for the most part have been gentle as kittens. Take it for what its worth, all strains of bees can have aggressive tendencies. Maybe I just had bad luck, but for now I'll pass on Russians

[Greg watkevich]

Many have reported similarly, that the Italian bees are much gentler and easier to manage than Russians.   It sounds like the bigger concern is that some commenters suggest that Italian bees are more disease prone and not as hardy in the northern climates.  I would really like to hear more about how Italians winter over in the northeast.
Greg Watkevich

[longrangedog]

The original Russian stock was imported over a dozen years ago. The present USDA Russians are the result of selective breeding over the last 12 or so years and are better, calmer bees than the originals. They are hygenic, mite resistent, high producing, hardy, and easy to work. Some of the bad PR comes from the fact that many breeders advertise Russian bees when what they're really selling are Russian hybrids. Hybrids are not as good as pure Russian. That's why you should buy from Russian Honeybee Breeder Association members only.

[wd]

This may be premature but ... wanted to let you know that I have an out yard pending written authorization. If it's a go, I think it's perfect for Russians. This spot is fairly secluded from people.

What I'm trying to do is set up yards with one line in each. Meaning Italian in yard A, New World Carniolan in yard B ... etc.

[lenape13]

I started last year with three packages of Italians, one of which I had to re-queen because she wasn't laying.  Then I picked up a hive of ferals.  The ferals out-performed my Italians, put I am happy with all four hives.  This year I'm adding a few more packages and looking for more ferals.