Originally Posted by
Rosie
Hi DR
I kept the same bees although my selection process tends to work against the early starters so they may be gradually changing.
When I first obtained the stocks I was warned by the seller that they would not collect rape because they were ideally suited to late crops, lime in particular. As it happened, in my region, they developed early enough to take full advantage of rape. One year they were near some mustard that flowered even earlier than the rape (it was planted as pheasant cover). They built up very well on the mustard and were fully developed by the time the rape came out. Afterwards they were able to reach a bean field. That was my best year and I averaged about 150lbs of honey plus a number of new colonies from them.
I think their development speed depends a lot on the forage and weather conditions and here that means they are slow. I stimulate a few with thin syrup each year to get my queen rearing off to an early start. They respond to that provided they can reach pollen.
Rosie
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