Making a spit?

[AllenF]

http://www.extension.umn.edu/honeybees/components/pdfs/abjfuture_mn_hygienic_stock_oct_2009.pdf   -Nice read.

http://www.glenn-apiaries.com/breeding.html   -more info

These are just 2 sites to give you an idea on how to test and pick hygienic stock to raise from.   

[Guy]

I will check it out. Thanks

[sc-bee]

Pick a good stock as a base. I have been using some Russian Hybrids in my stock. I have been pleased with them. The queens have tended to run a little small the last two years but I seem to have had about a 75% success rate with them. I usually try and add a 2-3 nucs with a producer queen before I go into winter after maintaining my mongrels through the season. By late season the queens are what I would say dirt cheap compared to in season prices about 12-15 dollars and usually available.

After you locate the stock you prefer pick the survivors from year to year and try to breed from those. Do this by taking your swarm cells etc and breeding queens from these.

I only run between I started with 2-5 hives and have built up to about 10 hives and usually about 4 nucs overwintered with them. Since 2005 I have bought thee packages of bees. The first two were starting hives. I catch a few swarms and split a few.

My most lost(full hives) have been due to shb--- three splits I made my first year and one since then. Now nucs and swarms, that's a different story, shb will take them in a heartbeat if not strong.

Out of about eleven this year I came out of winter with one loss. I overwintered four nucs one was queenless at inspection. I also combined a couple that were weak. Yesterday I counted nine hives and four nucs.

I do not contribute this to my beekeeping skills I guess I have been just blessed  :)

Some years some hives make no excess honey and others are bloomers. Maybe the ones that don't make could have varroa pressure but I see no k-wing etc. I am lazy, I do not do varroa counts etc. I think the Russian stock helps my varroa issue. They tend to be more hygenic and like to chase the shb.
I watch for this trait of the bees chasing shb instead of just co-existing with them and being happy.

My boomers may be from just poor queens or laid out queens. In the past I have rarely pinched a queen just for the fact that I have had equipment to keep them in and they stored up enough honey to feed themselves and I didn't care to increase my hive count. I don't feed them! So they cost me nothing by not pinching them other than I could have done a combine if I wanted. Just my personal decision, other would say pinch them and have the same number of perhaps productive hives ;)

Enough of the ranting because I believe I have just been lucky. Because I will admit I am truly a LZ beekeeper :-D

Basically I am trying to say, find a good stock and try to breed a local population and add a good producer queen or two when you have to.

[Guy]

I happened up on something at Lowes today. Bee baum. The bees were all over it and I hadn't even planted it. The followed me to the flower bed. Thanks for your reply I hope re queening my chalkbrood hive make them stronger. I only have two hives and don't want to loose either.

[preston39]

Guy,
Is this a plant?

Is this like the butterfly plant?..which draws b/flys in. It works.

[Guy]

yes it is a flowering herb.