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Subject:
Orange County, NC Beekeepers
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- From: "Starks, Walter" <Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu>
- To: John Rintoul <rintoul AT me.com>
- Cc: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [ocba] Queen but no brood
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 01:41:24 +0000
Thanks John
You may be right about the breeding. The queen is gold but the workers range from gold to black (lots of black). Definately all American :). Wait and see seems like it's really the only solution.
______
Walter
Sent from my iPhone
Walter,
I bought 2 VSH nucs from 7 Stands last May. I checked both colonies 2/8. Hive 1 was strong with bees and brood at all stages. Hive 2 was less robust. I saw fewer bees, capped brood, but no open brood. Both colonies had honey and pollen stores.
Randall’s comment about Carniolans and Russians is interesting. Although the VSH trait is “all American” according to the Glenn Apiaries breeder folks in Louisiana, they acknowledge the preponderance of Russians in the original USDA breeding stock.
It is probable that Russian traits are strong in VSH bees. So the late start for your one hive and my Hive 2 may have more to do with the cautious nature of queens with Russian genetics than with a failed/failing queen. I am taking a wait and see view.
On the plus side, both of my hives were flying today. After the recent subfreezing temps I wasn’t feeling much like flying, so I was happy to see that the bees are more resilient than me.
John Rintoul
(919) 414-4071 (M)
No
trees were killed in the distribution of this message, but countless electrons were seriously inconvenienced.
Two of my hives have started building up for the spring, but I have one that has no brood at all. I originally thought it was queenless but I spotted the queen today. Is it normal for queens to stop laying completely in the winter or has this
one failed and I need to pinch her?
______
Walter
Sent from my iPhone
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