🐝💗Our Backyard Beekeeping Journey!💗🐝

[R2elk]

Yes. I ordered them through Olivarez Honey Bees, Inc.

They are advertised as being very gentle. So far they are out performing my other 2 hives. The Olivarez Italians are not far behind though.

BTW with my location, I have to order any bees online.

If all you are ordering are queens, they still allow next day air for them.

 

[drstratton]

Yes. I ordered them through Olivarez Honey Bees, Inc.

They are advertised as being very gentle. So far they are out performing my other 2 hives. The Olivarez Italians are not far behind though.

BTW with my location, I have to order any bees online.

If all you are ordering are queens, they still allow next day air for them.

Thank you!
So, you have 2 different lines from Randy? Do you have a hard time keeping your Italian bees alive through winter?

 

[Sally PB]

Yes. I ordered them through Olivarez Honey Bees, Inc.

What did you pay for the queens, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[R2elk]

Thank you!
So, you have 2 different lines from Randy? Do you have a hard time keeping your Italian bees alive through winter?

No, I have the one line from Randy Oliver who sells his line through Olivarez and one line from Olivarez.

I have had both good and bad luck keeping hives alive through the winter.

Last year I lost 2 hives in September. I suspect poison but may be wrong.

 

[R2elk]

What did you pay for the queens, if you don't mind my asking?

I bought packages, not separate queens. They openly list the price for their queens on the Olivarez site.

 

[drstratton]

No, I have the one line from Randy Oliver who sells his line through Olivarez and one line from Olivarez.

I have had both good and bad luck keeping hives alive through the winter.

Last year I lost 2 hives in September. I suspect poison but may be wrong.

Thank you very much. I will be looking at those.

I'm sure your winters are a lot more fierce than ours.
I hope everyone here has good luck keeping their bees this winter.

Poison, that's just sad.

 

[R2elk]

Poison, that's just sad.

Sevin is one of the worst. The bees bring it back to the hive and kill the whole hive.

 

[Sally PB]

Sevin is one of the worst. The bees bring it back to the hive and kill the whole hive.

I'm wondering what the farmer uses on the fields near us. I know he uses glyphosate at times.

 

[R2elk]

I'm wondering what the farmer uses on the fields near us. I know he uses glyphosate at times.

That is a herbicide not an insecticide.

 

[Apis mellifera]

Wondering if there will be a better way to mite control in the future.
Still another question. Is there a process to protect the queen during the treatment???

Yes, there's a few. Norroa looks promising. Should be out soon.
https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/...bf42c395d20540a_20250328_Norroa-one-pager.pdf
Other than formic acid, I never lost a queen or had to protect a queen from a treatment.

More questions;
Would it be a good idea to bring some of those species here to US, or leave well enough alone??

Varroa jumped from Apis Cerana to Apis Mellifera. Apis Cerana is the only bee that is 100% resistant. It's a smaller bee that has its own set of issues and doesn't produce nearly as much honey as Apis Mellifera. More than a few queens have been smuggled from countries like Cuba who claim 100% resistance. They're not resistant. It's not just the mites but the diseases they vector. If I sent mites to Cuba from my hives it would probably wipe them out. After struggling my first year's beekeeping I bought USDA Russian queens, and they worked out great for me. I've been grafting and splitting them for at least 8 years. I don't know how much of the original genetics I still have but they are still great bees. Russian bees are not perfect but are disease and mite resistant and overwinter great. If you're interested in the history and spread of varroa mites YouTube "Understanding varroa mites" by Dr. David Peck / NY Bee Wellness. Excellent presentation.

I would like to buy a hygienic queen next year. Did you have to order Randy Oliver's online?

The difference between VSH bees and Randy's is he doesn't claim they are hygienic. He doesn't care how the bees control the mites just that they control them and are still productive with good temperament. Some current popular VSH breeders are producing nasty, low production bees. It's great to hear @R2elk is having success with them.