How do Italian Bees fare for wintering over in the cold Northeast Climate?

[Greg watkevich]

Lots of bees that people purchase in the Northeast are shipped up from Georgia, Carolina's, and other southern states, etc.  What kind of results have people had with Italian bee's wintering over in our cold Northeast climate?  I understand that buying localized bees is the best option to get and established hardy line, but availability is sometimes a problem.  I'd like to hear your comments...
Thanks, Greg Watkevich

[Michael Bush]

It's not a question of Italians vs Carniolans.  Both winter fine.  The  Italians just eat more stores and, in my experience, require a larger  cluster to survive.  It's more a question of acclimatized bees.  Northern bred Italians are more likely to winter well than Southern bred Italians.

[contactme_11]

Unless you are buying a nuc up here than any package is going to come from the south and the queen will not be acclimated to the cold winters. So you kind of have a 50/50 chance with any package queen. If you choose to go with a package than it would be more advantageous for you to requeen it with a local one after they become available later in the year.

[Finski]

.
I live in Finland and the most popular bee here is Italian. Carinolan we have had only 20 years.

Some beekeeprs keep Italains on Polar Circle area.

I like most Italian bees, and again all my hives are Italians.

But the most impotant is that bee stock is adafted to local year rhytm.
They must stop brood rearing in time. Otherwise they will not survive over winter.
In my climate bees stay totally in hives from October to March. Between that time they cannot fly out and return. If they have brood during winter, they will die.

Italian bee strains are many. They are tens.



.

[Scadsobees]

Then again, I think that some of the southern breeders import a lot of their breeding stock from the northern climates, so while the bees are from the south, they include over-wintering traits favorable for the north.   

Can't have packages, nucs, and queens ready to go by April in the north  :roll:

[Finski]

they include over-wintering traits favorable for the north.   

It is better however to change the queen and get it from local stock.
Talk with experienced beekeepers on your area.

[Natalie]

There are quite a few breeders here selling nucs if you really want to get bees more suited to our climate, which in my opinion is the best way to go.
I got nucs from a couple of different people here last year, if you need names and numbers you can pm or e-mail me.