Topic: bees

[Twoflower]

Why do you want dark bees?

[Robert_Brenchley]

I can't speak for anyone else, but the native bees are dark. Not all dark bees are native though, as there seems to be a lot of selection pressure in that direaction. For instance, there were no imports of queens during WW2, and writers from that time say the bees got noticeably darker. There are records of black colonies turning out to be Italian in every other respect. Italians are normally yellow. I got some native bees from Cornwall some years back, and I've found them to be consistently better-tempered than the usual hybrids.

[kitty]

i'm saving up so i can start keeping bees on the lottie-i'm in a sheltered area surrounded by trees...
til my boat comes in i shall keep reading me bee books
kitty
x

[pippy]

My honey man tells me about the native British black bee and he says it is very docile and sweet tempered.  The Italian bees (yellow ones) apparently have the Latin temperament  ;D ;D.... (hope there are no Italians on here to get offended!).

The other interesting things he was telling me when I saw him in the winter were about the bees circulating around the colony from the inside to the outside all the winter to maintain their warmth.  Even more fascinating, they don't defecate in the hive;  they wait for a warm day and all fly out to do it.  They are quite amazing creatures really!

[Robert_Brenchley]

You hope they don't go in the hive! If they get desperate enough they will (mine were last winter due to long confinement) and that spreads a very infectious bowel disease called Nosema, which can decimate colonies. I treated for it last autumn, and had a probable case this spring anyway.

Your friend is right about the temper of the British bee; the same applies to a pure strain of any European subspecies. It's the hybrids which are nasty. An organisation called BIBBA (Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders' Association) is doing genetic testing of possible native strains. I may get mine done, as I'd like to know whether they're really native, or whether, like some, they're hybrids which look like natives. BIBBA's been almost moribund for a long time and I'm hoping it can get moving again.