Has anyone tried the English Buckfast Queens?

[sweet bee]

I'm considering trying the Buckfast queens from Russell's has anyone tried them?  What is your opinion of  them?

~Angie

[ccar2000]

I bought one this august and put her in a nuc. Once she was let out of her cage she got started. Last inspection she had about a frame and a half of brood. I have been feeding heavy syrup and bee-pro patties. I hope to either move her in to a full size hive or do a combine with a hive that appears to be queenless.  So far a good investment.

[Michael Bush]

I have not had queens from Russell's, although I have heard good things about them.  I did have Buckfasts from Weaver and later B. Weaver (when they split up) most of the time from 1974 until 2001 and loved them until 2001 when they turned into the most viscous bees I had (or have) ever seen.  Up until then they wintered well, had no Tracheal mite problems, produced well.  They were like frugal Italians (an oxymoron I guess) and quite gentle until 2001... now I have mutts whose traits vary over time.  Currently they act most like Carniolans.  But again are frugal and winter well...

[BlueBee]

Any ideas, or speculation, on why those Buckfasts turned vicious Michael?

[tom]

I got a caucasian from him and she is a laying machine but the thing i have found not true is she is not what i thought her bees look like italians and very few dark bees and the ones that are dark look like my carni's. I also have one of his so-called russian /italian and her brood is spotty and they are still on three frames and will not take syrup or pollen patties.

Thomas

[Michael Bush]

>Any ideas, or speculation, on why those Buckfasts turned vicious Michael?

Well, they are from Texas... a map of the AHB invasion might give us a clue.

[bluegrass]

Buckfast are technically a hybred, not a breed so careful breeding is required to maintain the traits they are known for. Brother Adam used African bees in his original breedings and Buckfasts have always been known to get aggressive with 2nd or 3rd generation queens. It is even an issue in England where no AHB is present. If you want Buckfasts you have to work hard to keep the queen you buy.

Now there is some debate as to whether Buckfast still exist. Buckfast Abbey used to license breeders to follow specific breeding guidelines to breed and sell "buckfast" queens. They stopped doing that several years ago so there are no longer any licensed breeders. They still own the rights to the name though, so if they wanted to they could stop everybody from selling queens as "Buckfasts"  As far as genetics are concerned no Buckfast stock has come into the US in 40 years. The best source for Buckfast stock on this side of the pond is actually from Ferguson in Canada, he was able to acquire stock from the Abbey in the early 90s and his bees have been tested and are the closest to Buckfast stock in North America.   

[BjornBee]

Buckfast are technically a hybred, not a breed so careful breeding is required to maintain the traits they are known for......    

Good entire post.

I selected just the first part, to add some comments.

Maintaining any line of bees is very hard to do. You need a tremendous amount of resources to keep a line going. I always look twice at breeders who offer several lines of bees. Are they just offering first generation daughters from purchased breeder queens? I don't know. But as mentioned time and again, ask questions. Is there really true buckfast around? I guess the same can be said of Russians and any other type bee. No doubt with open mating, no stock remains pure, and no breeder that I am aware genetically tests his bees. But claims of pure this, or pure that, continues to this day.

It reminds me of the customer who asks the beekeeper "What kind of honey do you have? And the beekeeper reaching for his box of various labels asks "What kind of honey do you want?"  ;)

I would really suggest beekeepers buy local, acclimatized, and overwintered hardy bee stock. Leave the marketing fluff and labeling of bees, at the door.

I have bought probably every type of bees from multiple breeders. And none of them ever looked the same. Almost all are open mated, and their offspring is always different. Makes you wonder how close the labels are to begin with.

[VolunteerK9]

It reminds me of the customer who asks the beekeeper "What kind of honey do you have? And the beekeeper reaching for his box of various labels asks "What kind of honey do you want?"  ;)

Yeah, and here where I live, I have seen everything from clear to dark honey labeled as "Sourwood".

[Tommyt]

I have bought probably every type of bees from multiple breeders. And none of them ever looked the same.

What TYPE bee did you buy? Bumble bee,Yellow jacketed bee,Good Bee,Honey Bee, Better bee,Flying Bee,window Bee,spelling bee :-D
Life's a very big box of chocolates Eh?
Your Special
A Champ,in my Book
Go gett-um Big fella

Bee nice

Check this
http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm
Real good bee Info

His type Bee .......... Honey Bee :-D

[sweet bee]

when they turned into the most viscous bees I had (or have) ever seen. 

UGH! :(

If you want Buckfasts you have to work hard to keep the queen you buy.   

I'm lazy; LOL :-D

I have Italians (doesn't most everybody?)  but I was wondering if there was any others I could try?  I prefer bees with a gentle nature cause I'm also chicken :shock:

[BjornBee]

This site might help:  http://www.nsqba.org/typesofhoneybees.html

[Tommyt]

This site might help:  http://www.nsqba.org/typesofhoneybees.html

OK Grass Hopper I'll bite :-D how would that link help? The thread is for Buckfast.The person asking
is from Ga. your link is for and made up of... Northern Keepers. All 9 of them are Northern Breeders that want to keep it NORTH, see quote below
  Why would you invite or mis-direct the guy to a page with nothing he asked for?
If its so, he knows your a Beekeeper? your signature says it all,If you need to feel important,secure? ask the wife for a hug

  I am quoting this to save others from wasting time thinking its about Buckfast

What is the purpose of the NSQBA?
The idea for the NSQBA is to help the growing segment of northern breeders come together and work as a unit to be better breeders, share ideas, exchange genetics, strengthen the gene pool, allow the local beekeeping communities to buy from northern breeders, and maintain a genetic pool unaffected by AHB, both now and in the future

I guess its just you being you ...
.
sweet new-bee  
I wish you all the luck in what ever queen(s) you end up with
I hope you get many more educated replies to your thread
Grass hopper likes to step in on new members then answer
like a Politician,full of Wind,like in puff, then it grows to huff
most times ending with whining/crying :'(
He'll go off shortly,it maybe fun
Last week he came on with a different screen name started to argue
with himself  :lau:
Please stick around its a great place for learning. having
fun with the special ones

Tommyt

[BjornBee]

Thank you for posting information on NSQBA.

The link was to perhaps have the reader(s) consider other strains, and offer an opinion on the types of bees available.

As for the purpose of NSQBA, there is nothing wrong with what is listed. Many northern beekeepers are trying to buy more acclimatized bees, raised in northern condition, and for reasons as others such as MB stated. I would not crap on MB for suggesting that perhaps the bees are a bit hot, due to being in AHB areas. Many feel that way. And many do not want to purchase from areas with AHB concerns. With the spread of AHB in Florida and now Georgia, I think it's a good concept to have an alternative source for those wishing to buy elsewhere.

It's not a negative, but a positive to what NSQBA offers. It offers an alternative to the buying public. And I have been contacted by more than one southern breeder interested in buying stock from the north, And this includes the idea that they would want strains unaffected by AHBs.

Yes...it's me being me.

And it is certainly you being you.


Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

[diggity]

My Dad got a package of Buckfasts a few years ago, from somewhere in TX.  They ended up being really nasty.  They'd follow him back to the house and wait outside the door for hours until someone came out and ZAP!  My poor mother couldn't even go outside to do her gardening, and he became very concerned about grandchildren, neighborhood kids, deliverymen, etc being attacked.  They were so bad he didn't even want to re-queen because he was afraid of drones in the area spreading those nasty genes to other colonies.  So he exterminated the whole colony.  Sad...

[buzzbee]

Tommy T
The last time I looked,you were not in the mod staff. Quit throwing gas on the fire.he was posting a link for someone that may be looking for something different. Let the moderating to the staff at Beemaster, and if you can't keep from baiting others perhaps you should take a break.
I've seen two jabs in this thread. There is enough trouble to go around right now,so consider yourself warned.
I can read between the lines and many times I see you joining the circus wagon.Cool it now.
And as far as your reference to scrapiron as an alias,you are dead wrong.We know where he is from and it's a lot closer to you than the one you are referencing.As i said,perhaps some of your insinuations are best left to be handled by the staff.

Perhaps you need a refresher
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,19652.0.html
You are bumping rule 2 pretty hard too. Others have been warned,now you are amongst them.