I ordered a package of Carniolan bees back in February. I later decided to get another package so that I could raise two colonies. It has been suggested in more than one book that two colonies is better than one. First, you can compare hives and quickly determine when one is doing poorly and needs help. It is also insurance that if one hive dies, then you still have one hive left.

Having more than one hive, even for a beginner like me, makes sense. However, I made the decision to go with another package too late. Bees are usually sold out by March 1st; in fact, most bees are sold out by February 1st.

I found a seller in Rhode Island who has a number of nucs for sale and I ordered two. He had a kind of Italian Bee called a Minnesota Hygienic. He also had a kind called Russian. I did not know anything about the Russians, but I had read an article about the Minnesota Hygienic bees that strongly recommended them because of their natural resistance to several bee diseases. I ordered two nucs of the Minnesota Italians.

Now, after the fact, I’ve decided to look into the different bee breeds. These are all pretty much the same bee with different genetic features. They are the same species, but different subspecies or crossbreeds. They are like different races of bees, although the differences can be striking.

Golden Italian

The Golden Italian Honey bee has been the main bee of beekeepers for many years. It is a good beginner’s bee. I found a list of some of its strong points, including: Readily builds comb, Light color so it makes it easy to find a queen, Good at finding pollen, Doesn’t swarm as much as other bees, Relatively calm and gentle, resistant to foulbrood disease, Doesn’t make as much propolis (bee glue).

On the minus side, the Italians keep laying eggs and making brood even when there is no food source so they can starve if not watched. They build a lot of comb that is not for honey or brood – the structural comb called brace and burr. They drift, which means they can wander off.

The Italian bee seems to be a good all around choice.

The Minnesota Hygienic is an Italian hybrid developed by Dr. Marla Spivak at the University of Minnesota Bee Lab. They are called hygienic because they are particularly good at cleaning out sick larva and pupa, which makes them better able to fight off American Foulbrood and Chalkbrood.

Carniolan bees.

Carniolan bees or Carnies were imported from Slovenia because they are resistant to insect pests and it is very gentle. It is almost as popular with beekeepers as the Italian Honey Bee. It is a darker brown bee, not as golden color as the Italians.

There are lots of things to like about the Carniolan bee. Among other things it has a rapid buildup in early spring, even before flowers bloom. It is very gentle and non aggressive. It survives well in the winter. It regulates its size better than the Italians so it is less likely to starve as the food supply declines.

On the other hand, it swarms at the drop of a hat, especially when there is a good food supply and as pollen decreases, the size of the brood substantially decreases.

Russian Honey Bees

Russian bees have been imported in the last 20 years because they are naturally resistant to varroa mites. Varroa mites seem to be a big problem in recently, and the Russians, coming from the place where varroa mites originated, is genetically resistant to the mites.

The geneticist Thomas E. Rinderer traveled to Russia’s Pacific coast area called the Primorsky Territory in 1996. He brought back 100 queen bees. The bees proved to be mite resistant and beekeepers have been trying them out with great success.

The Russian bees have many good points. Besides mite resistance, they are good at surviving harsh winters. They have a quick spring buildup so they increase in numbers during peak honey production season.

On the minus side they tend to swarm more than other bees. Until recently they were more expensive.

There are a number of other bee types. Many of them are Brand name hybrids that have been developed at bee farms for certain characteristics. Your mileage may vary. I am hoping that we will be able to buy queens that are proven resistant to Colony Collapse Disorder.

By accident, I think I did OK. The Carniolan Bees that I ordered for May are a good bee. The Italians that I will be getting in mid April are also a good choice. I should have ordered a nuc of Russians, just so I would cover all bases, but I don’t want to get crazy. Maybe next year, when I figure out how to split a hive, I’ll get a Russian queen.

A Nuc, pronounced nuke, is a nuclear hive. It is four or five frames from a working hive including a queen.

When you get bees, you can obtain your colony in two ways. First is with a Package. Package bees come in a screened cage the size of a shoebox. There are three pounds of bees (upwards to 10,000) in the package. There is a can of sugar syrup in the cage and a queen in a box. The bees are grabbed from an existing hive and the queen is breed separately and may not be related to the hive. You put the package in your hive and let them get used to the queen. If you feed them enough and all goes well, then maybe they will all get along and start a colony. In three or four weeks the hive will be established and start increasing.

A Nuc on the other hand, is 4 or 5 frames from an existing hive. It is a colony that had been working well for a time and the bees know and are related to their queen. The frames contain honey and pollen and eggs and larva. The frames were pulled from a working hive. This is the nucleus of a hive. If you feed the bees and keep them happy, they already have a good start and will stand a better chance of success than a package.

A nuc comes in a nuc box. It is usually a cardboard hive. The cardboard nuc boxes cost less than $7. (My supplier is charging $5.) You can get wooden nuc boxes for a bit more, but these are real, but small, hive boxes.

Bee suppliers don’t always have nucs and they cost more. The package bees come from huge bee breeding farms in the south. Nucs, on the other hand, come from successful beekeepers who produce the nucs to make extra money. Package bees are cheap and easy and are usually successful, but come later in the spring and don’t start really working until the summer, which is long after the first spring honey season. You have to feed and care for Package Bees. They might need a gallon or more of sugar a day for the first month. Nucs need feeding, but are also out working the flowers right away.

This spring I will be receiving two Nucs in April and a Package in May. I decided that I did not want to put all my eggs in one basket so I decided on three hives. This way I will have a better chance of success. I will also be able to compare the progress of the three hives to see how they compare.

My goal is to get a little honey this summer and fall. I then hope that the bees stay healthy and happy through the winter and increase in the spring. If I do everything right and I don’t kill my bees I can then split the hives in the spring. If I get six hives I will place three in a few friends’ yards. In two years I hope to sell some nucs myself.

Right now I am a total novice, without experience. I have high hopes, though. I am a quick learner. This time next year I hope to be experienced enough at this to hold some classes – another source of income.

Links:
Plans for a 5 frame nuc
MDASplitter.com “Splitter Box”

I found a bee keeper with “lots” of Nucs, and I am putting in for two Minnesota Hygenic (Italian) Queens. He also has Russian Queens.

I will be driving down April 4 or 5.

If anyone local needs one, you’ll need to get me a box and 5 frames to exchange. I would ask for a donation for gas as it is 200 miles each way.

In late February of 2009, I decided to go for it. I ordered a starter pack of bees from BetterBee up in Greenwich, NY. I will be picking up the bees in May. I chose Betterbee because they are in an area I know. They are three hours drive from my house, but I don’t think that I mind that. There were other places around, including an ad on craiglist, but the Betterbee starter packs were less expensive and they seemed to be more together than the other locations.

I bought the hive from Brushy Mountain Bee Farms. They had the best prices (although their shipping was high). I bought a starter package from them, which was a great value when added up. I think it was quite a bit less than the other websites. They shipped it and it has arrived. I will get pictures of it this weekend.

The Brushy mountain box included a DVD from 1991 that was a little slow moving, but still had some interesting information. It included the book First Lessons in Beekeeping by Keith S. Delaplane. I must say that I thought the book was excellent. It covered everything very clearly and I recommend it highly. Order it through Brushy Mountain because it costs over $40 on Amazon.

The book did not downplay the problems that beekeepers have. I had some sleepless nights worrying about my future colony of bees. I want them to succeed, but the book listed so many things that can go wrong. There are problems with the bees and mites and diseases. If you hive is too successful it can split and half the bees run for a new home. If the queen dies it can mean disaster. I am seriously worried.

My next step is to order some “supers”. These are boxes that go on top of the hive. After reading things on the internet and Delaplane’s book, a single hive box is not enough room for the hive to thrive. I have to make some more room. I am also considering getting another hive box and starting a second backup colony. The odds are pretty good that the hive will die, and I want to be prepared with a second colony, just in case.

I will call Betterbee today and see if it is possible to get another starter package of bees.

This is the first post.

It starts here.