How good is this local queen bee compared to a F1 Buckfast?

[@WellesbourneHoneyCo]

We are on the sustainable side and breed for localised bees. Buckfast are cuddly but we go for Apis Melifer'ish. 😂

[@ninon108]

Loving the lovely local bee!!!

[@goldingracing]

I believe the red pollen is horse chestnut.

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

Thank you Adam, I was thinking it could be but needed to look it up

[@lenturtle7954]

Nice video . That black queen is a great layer Can you imagine how many frames of buckfast bees you would have if they had more drawn comb and less foundation

[@arronbwabw504]

Hi, I hope I can add as I don't get my bees until June. I ordered a Buckfast F1 + Nuc from the mentioned supplier. Although I'm still happy with my order, your video has given me food for thought if I expand.

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

Bought in Queens can be very good, a good supplier will have spent a lot of time picking out breeders and mating locations. We have had a handful of really nice local queens. The more you deal with bees the easier it is to identify what is good and what’s not. Good luck on the beekeeping journey

[@bluelab5019]

I've gone right off Buckfast. Once they get to F3 they seem to be really aggressive. I've used a couple of Carniolan this year with a view of changing them all next year.

[@lenturtle7954]

I have quite a mix Buckfast Elgin Carnolian Italian Saskatraz They are so mixed i see about 7 different color variations . I dont have any that are obnoxious . I never wore a veil this year at all. When i make queens i dont know what they are going to look like until they hatch out as they dont always look likectheir mother

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Ive bought many dozens of the Buckfast hybrids that dont stay buckfasts for long. I had them supersede quickly and get too aggressive too many times. I've not bought them since 2000 and prefer to make my own queens from stable non hybrid mother queens. I've not had any problems with aggressively unworkable colonies since I stopped buying them. I would love to breed of the mellifera black bee but they've gone extinct in North America and are impossible to buy at any price.

[@MrStreetninja007]

You do realize that after three generations of course you're going to lose the original characteristics

[@bluelab5019]

@@MrStreetninja007 l do, yes👍🏼🐝

[@parkinsonga3092]

Just had to double brood box my Buckfast, the queen is a monster for laying.

[@parkinsonga3092]

I've joined the Buckfast club this year, usually I just have local black bees. The Buckfast really surprised me as I have had to give them a second brood box, my black bees never need a second box. With my black bees I can expect two supers of honey, I'm a little worried that I may not have enough supers for the Buckfast. We have Warre hives as well with black bees and they just plod on, usually I won't take honey from them until year three. The blacks love the Warre hives but I think If I tried Buckfast in a Warre I would end up with a hive around twenty boxes high😂

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

I was really surprised when I started with Buckfast, especially the size they can over winter with but they do need plenty of stores. It’s been a strange cold spring so if we can pull any honey off I will be happy but not to worry if we can’t.

[@jakethehulk]

It surprises me that you only expect 2 supers from your black native bees. For mine they generally produce 3-4 supers on average with the most exceptional hives 5-6 buy I agree with it being a 3 year process to bring them up to full strength.

[@bluelab5019]

That red pollen wasost likely horse chestnut.

[@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801]

That was a great video Andy, informative, without any silly gimmicks, music etc😊 Interestingly my two colonies are a local swarm, plus a Bmh Buckfast. Last week did a demaree of the local, and removed a frame with queen cell for a split, and split the other colony as there were cells. So now have two nucs with naturally produced queen cells. Will see how they turn out. Bit of an experiment, but as it's so early in the year if things go wrong, there are other options. Take care both of you.

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

Thanks so much, it’s a bit hard what to leave in and edit out sometimes, I can have a tendency to waffle on a bit. It’s the easiest way to start experimenting with queen rearing using swarm cells. I’ve just done the same off camera on this video, it will come out later but I’ll wait until she has emerged and mated before I go back in now.

[@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801]

@@pureyorkshirehoney Ta, I think your videos are spot on! l

[@Sageandbellflowerhoneybees]

Hello. Another great video! Interested in the red pollen. I had some the same yesterday on an inspection in Lincolnshire. Great idea for a video. I'm trying to use some QC this year to expand and I'm interested to see how the local bees compare the F2 buckfast I notice you had a defender suit on at the beginning of the video. A review of that suit would be a another great watch!

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

Yes, the red pollen caught me by surprise, I need to have a look to see where it’s from. I do have the defender suit, I could of done with the next size up, it’s a bit snug 😆

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Lamium Amplexicaule an early spring annual herb commonly called henbit if smooth leafed or dead nettle if rough fuzzy leafed. Red pollen will be on the pollen baskets of any bees working it.

[@radoslawjocz2976]

Red polen is from purple dead nettle.

[@jays200gspsreeftank7]

How long did you leave the demaree'd top brood box up there, I thought it was 25 days to ensure all larva had hatched out.

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

I only did a week, because I made a split with the Queen cells upstairs I took two frames of brood and quite a lot of nurse bees so I wanted the brood back together as I didn’t want to compromise the hive with brood up top and below. But yes usually I would leave it for the brood to finish hatching

[@yakladious]

Hi Andy, great video! Is there a trick to stop the bees from back filling the demaree frames with honey?

[@deckyos]

Keeping 2 types of bees in one Apiary will produce hybrids if free mating .

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Buckfasts are not a race anyway, just mutts.

[@stephenbull8962]

Two cracking colonies, a credit to you

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

Thanks, that’s nice of you to say. I do have a couple of not very good ones that I haven’t got my head around the reasons why yet. All part of the fun 😆

[@stephenbull8962]

@@pureyorkshirehoney As you say, I’m 72 years old now an started bee keeping 26 years ago and I’m convinced that bees wii often find a new way to catch you out. A great video thank you for sharing

[@johnhunt2605]

your local bees remind me of the Caucasian bee sold by John Eade MOUNTAIN GREYS very gentle and well suited to our B.S Brood boxes

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

They do seem quite happy don’t they, I’m well impressed with this queen

[@deckyos]

Do pure Buckfast still exist ? Iam told no.

[@pureyorkshirehoney]

As a wild bee then probably not but within the top breeders and there programs then maybe something close. Could be a video idea…

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Buckfasts are just mutts and always were, even when Brother Adam played around mixing them up. I requeened with them annually in the 80s and 90s because they get so aggressive when the mother queens die or swarm out but Id much rather have real local adapted black bees

[@deckyos]

Buckfast bees are simply a name now used by some Beekeepers to make a fast buck. Ridiculous to promote a non existent strain. Hybrids and Nasty