Russian bees

I have been in contact with Harper's, they seem to be costly (25.00 ea. mated) 25.00 to ship :shock: ... Does this seem too high?


Bee Catcher ...Thank you for the post!

I have no idea what the price should be. I don't care for the Russians. I would much rather have the Minnesota Hygienics.

Bee Catcher said:

I have no idea what the price should be. I don't care for the Russians. I would much rather have the Minnesota Hygienics.

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May I ask why?

The Russian soon becomes a hybrid, crossing with the Italian, after supercedure or swarm, producing an unknown. Some of those unknowns have been compared to Africans, others have been said to have less resistance to mites than Italians.

The Minn. Hyg.are Italians bred for their resistance to mites and ability to groom the mites off their body. Also bred for resistance to tracheal mites. The breeder I know gives free queens to all beeks within 2 or 3 mile of his Apiary, to ensure purebred stock in his area. Thus less hybrid offspring.

Bee Catcher said:

The Russian soon becomes a hybrid, crossing with the Italian, after supercedure or swarm, producing an unknown. Some of those unknowns have been compared to Africans, others have been said to have less resistance to mites than Italians.

The Minn. Hyg.are Italians bred for their resistance to mites and ability to groom the mites off their body. Also bred for resistance to tracheal mites. The breeder I know gives free queens to all beeks within 2 or 3 mile of his Apiary, to ensure purebred stock in his area. Thus less hybrid offspring.

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I am curious and will do some more research on these "Minnesota Hygienics" where is this breeder you know from and what would he charge me? (hopefully the cost would not be making up for keepers near him)

the goldline from purvis bro's has some russian in them,they are 20 a piece :?

http://www.purvisbrothersbees.com/

Jack Tapp
Busy Bee Apiaries
Chapel Hill
(919) 942-2006
(919) 516-6621
Authorized Brushy Mountain bee farm distributor
Raises and sells Minnesota Hygienic Queens and spring nucs

Bee Catcher said:

Jack Tapp
Busy Bee Apiaries
Chapel Hill
(919) 942-2006
(919) 516-6621
Authorized Brushy Mountain bee farm distributor
Raises and sells Minnesota Hygienic Queens and spring nucs

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would you mind shooting me his email?

dogsoldier13 said:

the goldline from purvis bro's has some russian in them,they are 20 a piece :?

http://www.purvisbrothersbees.com/

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thank you for posting... did not want you to think this went un-noticed! :mrgreen:

I like my Russians, but I really like my mongrel offshoots from my original Russians. I haven't had problems with grouchiness. I think there are probably some good benfits to having some Russian genes bred into your bees. My $0.02.

I have to agree, but as with any mix, different ones will have different traits. All of them don't turn mean, but some do. Yours have mixed with Italians and kept the good traits. That doesn't always happen. Some mixes are less than ideal.

That's why all mine are feral mutts. I don't buy any "breed" queens, but the Minn. Hyg. have a good reputation among those who have them.

1of6 said:

I like my Russians, but I really like my mongrel offshoots from my original Russians. I haven't had problems with grouchiness. I think there are probably some good benfits to having some Russian genes bred into your bees. My $0.02.

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Are they as slow to build up in the early spring ...as some people claim?

Al-Nahl said:

Are they as slow to build up in the early spring ...as some people claim?

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Yeah, the more pure Russians seemed that way. The populations did explode though when they got going. I got a good return from them in the way of a crop. They seemed to use less of the stores over winter, so I ended up stealing frames from them in the spring to swap out with other colonies, and doing this helped free up laying room for the queen - I think if I hadn't done this they would have stayed honey-bound. Perhaps this is one of the problems that some folks run into with them that cause them to complain about swarminess...

& Bee Catcher's right on the mark, after a generation or two, they will breed back into mutts, but if the other genetics in your yard aren't too shabby, you might end up with a good end product...

I appreciate all the responses... thank you.

:ugeek: