# A season of alcohol washes on a TF hive



## Robbin (May 26, 2013)

*Re: A season of alcohol washes om a TF hive*

Interesting stuff, I've read the second year is the hardest, but your current numbers are awesome. If you make it thru mid summer next year, grow me a queen and I’ll buy her and continue the test here in sunny Florida, the bastion of Mites and SHBs… I don’t like killing bees, but in this case I’ll do and alcohol wash ever month from May thru Oct….. Don't know how good a cold weather queen will do down here, but I'm willing to give it a try....


----------



## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

*Re: A season of alcohol washes om a TF hive*



Robbin said:


> .. Don't know how good a cold weather queen will do down here, but I'm willing to give it a try....


More to the point....it's a BeeWeaver queen....and they are out of Texas. The test of those genetics was how well they overwintered in Maine. So far...it appears they've passed that test.


----------



## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: A season of alcohol washes om a TF hive*

More to the point....it is the *daughter* of a BeeWeaver queen open mated to whatever is in my area for drones. My main stock that gets treated is out of Vermont but this county hosts 40,000+ colonies brought in for pollination of wild blueberries that time of year. Some of the migratory bees are within flying distance of my yards - certainly close enough for a DCA. That is the primary reason I don't raise my own queens - no control over 1/2 the genetics! Ok, I don't waste swarm cells if I find them soon enough to make up a nuc - but that is not my usual queen supply. Sorry Robbin!


----------



## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

*Re: A season of alcohol washes om a TF hive*

Proper way to do it Andrew in my opinion. Make daughters with local genetics, see what you get. With anything, there will be some duds but you will get some decent queens out of it as well. That being said, do you have any other hives around it to compare to as far as mite pressure goes and what were the counts there.


----------



## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: A season of alcohol washes om a TF hive*

I don't think "local genetics" are possible in my location due to the migratory bee influx. I am considering a mating yard in another county where I already have some bees. I need to wrap my head around the travel issue. It is near where I used to live.


----------



## Robbin (May 26, 2013)

*Re: A season of alcohol washes om a TF hive*

I'm ordered some beeweaver queens for next spring. I'm going to go half and half, Half my hives will be TF beeweavers. The other half my local bees that I had to treat this year for them to survive. I'll have some idea by next Aug, if all goes well I'll requeen with Beeweavers before winter. We'll see....


----------

