# Beeweaver queens in the north



## Ink (Feb 12, 2014)

Yes, in MA, packages and queens. On year 2 with them. Very strong hives and very gentile.


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## Andrey Limonchenko (Mar 29, 2013)

Well, I am not up north, but I have bought two queens this year from them and they are the most gentile of all hives I have. Great pattern.


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## Beelosopher (Sep 6, 2012)

Hopefully I can report next year, I am getting one in early June along with another beek who is trying 5 (we will see how it builds up and fairs the winter).


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## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

An important point would be their overwintering ability. My interest comes from looking for bees that may be able to survive varroa without chemical treatment, while I see various VSH lines being promoted I can't seem to find any currently for sale due to the cold spring in the North. Beeweaver seems to have taken a very proactive approach to the problem with a long term view, I'm just looking for feedback from anyone with cold weather experience with their stock.

Jim


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Not North, but high west. Front range Colo. My experience - fair acceptance, calm, very good producer, winters well. Mite resistant. Going strong, untreated, into the 3rd year.

I just ordered two more, hoping at least one will take.


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Hi there
I don't want to say anything bad about the Weavers, or their bees. I bought 8 last year and requeened everything. By mid summer they were testy and by fall they were mean. They built into huge hives, made tons of honey, but did not survive winter. 

When I say mean, I am used to working hives in a tee shirt, no matter how strong they are. With these bees, once they were strong and pure Weaver stock, I had to put on coveralls. They keep nailing me over and over. They admit the bees are part African, how could they not be?

Weavers offers to replace queens that produce hives that are uncontrollable, that don't respond to smoke, etc. so I think they are used to getting complaints of this sort. I bought some more this year, so I haven't given up. This year I am running half and half to see if there is a difference, aside from the testiness, which I expect.


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## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

peterloringborst said:


> They built into huge hives, made tons of honey, but did not survive winter. .


Any thoughts on why they didn't make it through the winter?


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

> Any thoughts on why they didn't make it through the winter?


Well, yes. I actually have two bee yards, one at my house and one about 15 miles away. The one at my house is sheltered and the other one is pretty much out in the open. The other bees didn't die, they came through a brutal NY state winter OK. Not great but OK. Mine at my house all failed. The unsheltered hives were very dry inside, maybe that helped them. The place at my house is somewhat darker, damper, etc. On the other hand, it could be the African blood that caused them to fail, I don't know. The others are run of the mill "Italians."


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## flyingbrass (Jul 2, 2011)

I just killed my b weaver queen. I never had a hive so mean! I've had hives I've been scared of but this one was worse. I gave her about 6 weeks and finally killed her. All other b weaver queens have been good. They were bought last year.


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## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

flyingbrass said:


> I just killed my b weaver queen. I never had a hive so mean! I've had hives I've been scared of but this one was worse. I gave her about 6 weeks and finally killed her. All other b weaver queens have been good. They were bought last year.


A couple of questions if that's ok. You say you gave her about 6 weeks, did you requeen a hive with her or was it a package or nuc?

Also you say that " all other b weaver queens from last year are good" ,how many of your hives have b weaver queens?

Did you contact them about the hot one?

Jim


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## oldiron56 (Mar 9, 2009)

opcorn:


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## MikeinCarolina (Mar 9, 2014)

I am interested in hearing any more experiences folks have had with the new B Weavers. I was contemplating starting a couple of nucleus colonies with their queens. 

I got my start in keeping honey bees with two packages from the Weavers before the brothers split up - I bought an All American and a Buckfast package - it was 1996 and the varroa mite and africanized bees were barely known in the US at the time.


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## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

Thanks to everyone who offered imput on this thread. We are going forward with a 20 queen evaluation, if it goes very well or very bad I'll post it. 

Jim


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## MikeinCarolina (Mar 9, 2014)

Thanks Jim cant wait to hear how it goes - when are you getting your queens?


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## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

They ship June 2nd, should arrive the third. I'll have some queenless nucs waiting for them.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

Being in the same state, I'll be interested to see how they overwinter for you. Please keep us posted in the future.


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

I've had Bee Weavers in Maine and my over all sense is that they are pretty good bees. They are not leave alone bees - they need management and inspections just like other bees. Whatever you do to prepare your bees for winter they will need as well. I found them to occasionally be "testy" if the weather or forage conditions were off; the fellow from the state inspected them without gloves.

My one observation was that they did not seem to gather enough pollen in the fall to brood up in the spring. This could have been easily dealt with by providing pollen sub - but I was trying to leave them on their own as much as possible and did not give pollen sub in the spring.

We had an unusually hard winter here - Zone 4 temps in Zone 5A - and I lost 3 of 4 BW colonies and 2 4 over 4 nucs. The one colony that survived was in a triple deep.

Like you I was searching for commercially available bees that could thrive without treatments. I think with a higher degree of management (and straps for covers!) more would have survived. I had planned on breeding from one colony but unfortunately the top blew off it sometime over the winter. I can't blame the bees for equipment failure!


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## summer1052 (Oct 21, 2007)

I have used both Beeweaver and R Weaver bees and queens. I think they are great. No, I'm not a northern beekeeper. But let me add some perspective.

Yes, lots of bees in TX have at least some AHB blood. Some have more than others. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Wild bee populations are rebounding dramatically, and tend to be fairly mite resistant. More importantly in this climate, they are also fairly SHB tolerant. Some even seem to be Fire ant tolerant, and THAT is an accomplishment!

I have seen REAL "hot" bees. The kind that "ping" off your veil, sting thru a suit, cover your head and veil in bees, follow you 1/2 mile down the road, and wait by your back door for DAYS waiting for a shot at you.

These are NOT what the Weavers sell. Period.

Having said that, if you still think you should be able to wander around barefoot, in a tank top and shorts and stick your face right in the hive, these bees are not for you. Those kinds of bees were not here in TX 60 years ago, long before AHB!, and they aren't here now. Normal beekeeping now involves a jacket and veil / suit, and a well lit, well filled smoker. And you USE it. Puff, puff.

I have seen northern beeks fuss about the "must be pure AHB!" bees from TX, GA, and FL. They aren't. Trust me. REAL AHB are SO hyper-defensive that it's staggering. And those are the new normal in Central America and Mexico. They just go ahead and suit up, and light a BIG smoker. 

Instead of forcing bees to adapt to the ideas we have of what they should be, why don't WE adapt to THEM? If a little AHB makes them healthier, stronger, mite resistant, and slows CCD, isn't it worth a veil and smoker? Or are we such wimps, we're going to hyper manage the bees to extinction? Note that I exempt the truly hot bees from that statement. The ones that won't re-queen, won't calm down, and are agitated for a week after mowing, or robbing, may have to be sprayed. 

Just some thoughts.
Summer :lookout:


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

summer1052 said:


> If a little AHB makes them healthier, stronger, mite resistant, and slows CCD, isn't it worth a veil and smoker?


Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes.

I don't mind bees that are a little on the feisty side at times. I guess the main question that remains unanswered for me is ... will they be able to overwinter in the north? All those things you mentioned are fantastic, but if they can't survive a northern winter because they have too much AHB genetics, then it's all for nothing and meaningless. Up here, anyway.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

summer1052 said:


> I have used both Beeweaver and R Weaver bees and queens. I think they are great.
> Summer :lookout:


Me too. As I said before - 'Kinda more West than north, here, but...

'Decades of success with them. Requeening a "hot one" has proved a dilemma for me - mess with outstanding production in a colony that is sometimes also reluctant to be re-queened? 'Probably the very few times I've _ever_ had them fail...unfortunately, it makes some sense. 

My current two best survivors - one of each, an RW (currently hot) & a BW (currently some of the gentlest I've ever had) - produced ~300 lbs (combined) 1st year, almost 400 lbs in their second year, & still going strong into the 3rd. 

Anticipating BW's will take over the hot divides.

4 2014 Pkgs of RWeavers doing great, as usual...they make it almost too easy.

Thanks, y'all...:thumbsup:


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Leather Jim said:


> Thanks to everyone who offered imput on this thread. We are going forward with a 20 queen evaluation, if it goes very well or very bad I'll post it.
> 
> Jim


Jim, last year I requeened a BeeWeaver package; extremely mean. What worked great was a RWeaver package I bought, Buckfast bees. It was my best honey producer last year, from a new package no less, and made it through the winter up here in the Catskills in upstate NY, through a pretty brutal winter I might add, and was queenright. I just bought 2 more Buckfast queens from them last week. Deb


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Mike Gillmore said:


> will they be able to overwinter in the north?


I've attributed winter losses to the usual things. 'Same with mean hives. A shot of AHB drone seed,_ timed in the fall_ was something I hadn't considered.

Overall, maybe 1 in 20 have ended up hotter than I care for. As for overwintering - 'really hard to say other than generally up in the past 10 years.

Many consider our winters brutal. At times they are, but overall much dryer. 

My experience with them is likely not a fair comparison to "true north".


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## summer1052 (Oct 21, 2007)

I can add that we had an unusually "cold" blustery winter this year. I am 75 miles SW of Navasota and the Weavers. I run single deeps through winter, and do NOT insulate. I use the small entrance reducer on the front, and remove the home made ventilators on top that I use. And I had a couple of ice storms. My hives sit in open pasture, away from shelter, to cut down on SHB.

I don't think *cold* will be a problem, as much as cold + damp. Granted, we measure freezes in hours, maybe days. But that also means that SHB and wax moths don't go dormant, either. Yippee. I saw bees fly at 25 F and above. As long as it wasn't windy.

I lost 6 hives this winter (of 22) and 4 of those were weak - ish going into fall. One hive got a new queen that they apparently rejected and killed. The other was knocked over by a buck rubbing his antlers (!) and absconded. So there. Didn't know deer were bee pests too. 

I am of the opinion that dry and cool is likely healthier than warm and damp without air circulation. I lived just north of Colebee for 40 years, and am *quite* familiar with his weather. When I was back east, 2 days in Philly was as far north as I got, so I dunno. But I'd love to hear. I'm in regular contact with the guys at R Weaver, and will pass it on.

Good luck!
Summer :gh:


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## oldiron56 (Mar 9, 2009)

If a little AHB makes them healthier, stronger, mite resistant, and slows CCD, isn't it worth a veil and smoker?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,That might be all well and good if your bees are out on a farm somewhere. I live in a neighborhood with neighbors on both sides, in front and back. My neighbors little kids can play in their yards and have never been stung. You must be able to understand why us northerners really don`t want or need any hybrid AHBs in or around our hives. Thank Heavens they cant take the cold,,,Yet. People keep buying them to (try them) up here, their drones are mating with local virgins. It wont be long before they can adapt. Why hurry it along? And CCD, who`s hives are dieing that don`t know why ?,,,,,Pete


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

I just bought a couple of Beeweaver queens, because I was favorably impressed by the one I got last summer. They arrived on Saturday and today they're in a couple of new nucs (not yet released.). Last year I was really a novice, and didn't notice anything odd about the one I got, but this year it struck me how small they and their attendants were compared to the queens I've raised from local stock. It made me wonder if they were using small cell.


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## Clayton Huestis (Jan 6, 2013)

Think it was said on organic bee list that weavers are using small cell. Given that there bees have some african blood would only make sense and would be working with there natural tendencies instead of against it.

Clay


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

Clayton Huestis said:


> Think it was said on organic bee list that weavers are using small cell.


I do not believe this is correct. At least for B. Weaver - I don't have any experience with R.


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## DPBsbees (Apr 14, 2011)

oldiron56 said:


> If a little AHB makes them healthier, stronger, mite resistant, and slows CCD, isn't it worth a veil and smoker?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,That might be all well and good if your bees are out on a farm somewhere. I live in a neighborhood with neighbors on both sides, in front and back. My neighbors little kids can play in their yards and have never been stung. You must be able to understand why us northerners really don`t want or need any hybrid AHBs in or around our hives. Thank Heavens they cant take the cold,,,Yet. People keep buying them to (try them) up here, their drones are mating with local virgins. It wont be long before they can adapt. Why hurry it along? And CCD, who`s hives are dieing that don`t know why ?,,,,,Pete


I agree with Oldiron. I'd rather treat for mites, then have bees that sting the neighbors, and me. Mean bees get re-queened, and I don't want to read any stories about human, or animal, deaths up here from bees. If you want AHB genes in your bees up north, buy your honey, and get out of the hobby (or business). It's just plainly not responsible behavior. We are already fighting local governments that want to ban beekeeping. All we need is an AHB attack to end our success.


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## Leather Jim (Jun 30, 2013)

Lol OldIron must have run out of popcorn, and decided to go off topic and stir the pot with the afb , we where talking about BeeWeaver queens not pure Afb. Trust me there are plenty of other strains cable of being mean, in fact IMO any good strong hive that's busting at the seams tends to be a little defensive, they have the population to spare for guards. 

Anyway I'd like to thank everyone with experiences using BWeaver queens for sharing. 

Jim


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## DPBsbees (Apr 14, 2011)

Leather Jim said:


> Lol OldIron must have run out of popcorn, and decided to go off topic and stir the pot with the afb , we where talking about BeeWeaver queens not pure Afb. Trust me there are plenty of other strains cable of being mean, in fact IMO any good strong hive that's busting at the seams tends to be a little defensive, they have the population to spare for guards.
> 
> Anyway I'd like to thank everyone with experiences using BWeaver queens for sharing.
> 
> Jim


I've been at this more than a little while, so I know what defensive bees are about. Maybe you should learn more about gene movement over the years. There are many plants here that have arrived from other places, as well as insects.


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

DPBsbees said:


> If you want AHB genes in your bees up north, buy your honey, and get out of the hobby (or business). .


That seems a tad judgmental. Unless you never buy bees or queens from the South or California, unless you buy only II breeder queens, then you too might have AHB genetics, and should probably get out of the hobby and buy your honey. AHB colonies have been found in the major bee producing regions. Any open mated queen could and in many cases *does* carry those genes.

The difference between Beeweaver and other queen producers is that Beeweaver is honest enough to admit that their breeding stock carries those genes. Unlike other breeders, they offer to replace any excessively hot queens. If you get such a queen from anyone else, which does happen, you're probably on your own.

Also, your proclamation regarding who deserves to keep bees ignores the fact that there are other mean bees besides AHB, and those are more likely to be found north of the Mason-Dixon line than AHB.

The Beeweaver queen I bought last year produced a very gentle colony. A package from a GA producer ended up mean as a snake.

Finally, I will point out that if Beeweaver were to unleash a plague of AHB killings on the north, they would be sued into oblivion pretty quickly. I'm pretty sure they've thought about this.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I think people need to understand that Beeweaver queens account for a tiny sliver of the total of open mated queens produced in that area of Texas each year.


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Isn't it great that we have so many choices of where to purchase bees and queens that fits our own environment....and yes, AHB and varroa and the nosemas and a bunch of other things will happen to our bees...this is a great forum for learning and gathering opinions of others that are more experienced... I believe from what I have read that both the Weavers have good bees.


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## summer1052 (Oct 21, 2007)

Thanks LeatherJim, rhaldridge, jimlyon, and cloverdale! Yes, that was my point. There is a very large, very pronounced difference between genuinely HOT, MEAN, CRANKY AHBs and bees that may have SOME hot blood in them. 

If your experience with bees is such that you can stroll out to the hive naked, and roll in the frames, and not get stung (exaggeration font) you are going to be sadly disappointed with Buckfast, German Blacks, Weavers, or any bees that have some AHB in them. Bees that you can roll naked in are going to be harder and harder to find as time goes on. My local mentor, a man working with bees all his life, 101 this July, says the old German Black bees were as hot, or hotter than the AHB. Every year, I am asked to exterminate at least one wild hive of really sweet bees because someone is afraid they just might possibly be AHB. I remove them when I can, and take the time to educate people. If you're standing here 5 feet away, looking at them, and they don't care, they aren't AHB. If they are 100 feet away, and they, and all their friends are making you back away, and not letting up, I'd be concerned.

Bees with some AHB are strong, healthy, great producers, hygienic, and require a veil and smoker to work. They are rebuilding the wild populations, and are probably going to help CCD in the long run. WE NEED TO LEARN FROM THEM AND ADAPT *TO* THEM, rather than breed out what we think we don't like. 

Genuinely HOT bees, that are hyper defensive, hyper sensitive to mowers/tractors/vibrations, and will not accept new queens are dangerous, and may need to be destroyed. Sad, but true. I get several calls per year like that, and I advise exterminators regularly for sincerely HOT bees. One hive in my yard got cross bred, and became super hot. I took them down. They were awesome producers, but they would not accept a new queen, being split, or anything else. They went away. They were NOT Weavers.

These second type ARE NOT NOW, and NEVER WERE what the Weavers (both) sell. They might make you think so, if you haven't experienced REAL AHB, but they are not. To assume that because Weavers bees are hotter *than you are used to,* therefore must be predominantly AHB, is wrong. Please don't make that assumption. They won't go sting neighbors just because they are there, nor cause deaths in animals or people just because they are Weavers. Weaver does not equal hot.

In every case, those deaths you mention are caused by FERAL hives, that were disturbed by tractors, or mowers, or animals physically mowing over, cutting down, stepping in, or otherwise suddenly physically disrupting the hive. Animals penned in place cannot leave the perimeter of defense, and are stung too many times to withstand. In the cases here in TX in the last few years (ALL of which I have personally followed closely, including one in my own county 18 months ago) the human who died was over age 60, and had other underlying health issues that made withstanding multiple stings too much for the body to handle. Heart issues, hypertension issues, and so on, cause problems. Healthy people without other issues can, and do, withstand multiple stings. I removed a colony from the wall of an old barn last year for a man who was "shredding" a pasture with his elderly uncle. They knocked over a "snag", old dead tree, that had a hive of hot bees they were unaware of. Both were stung over 1000 times. The uncle, 81, passed. I, myself, have been stung over 60 times working to remove a hot cut out. Not fun. 

THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF BEE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE WEAVERS. Please do not confuse the two types. There's already lots of ignorance about bees out there -- we beeks don't need to add to it!  (Anyone still get questions based on the "Bee Movie"? Grrr.)

But, yes, you won't be able to work them barefoot, in a tank top, and short-shorts. You'll want sleeves, pants, shoes, a veil, and a puffing smoker. So what? That doesn't make them bad. It makes you smart. And you'll need less sunscreen, too. 

If you are sincerely interested in seeing some genuine hot bees, PM me, and I'll arrange a field trip. In their own way, they are really awesome and fascinating. Like rattlesnakes. I wouldn't keep them around, either. But I don't assume garden snakes, prairie racers and rat snakes are just as cranky, by virtue of coming from the same place.

Pax,
Summer


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## MJuric (Jul 12, 2010)

Here's my experience.

I bought and requeened two hives with beeweavers last year. I also made up six nucs with them. All the nucs died, but like because I don't know what I'm doing rather then any fault of the bees themselves. The Beeweaver hives are clearly more aggressive then any other hives or breed I've had, Italian or Carnies. However I did not find them so aggressive that you could not deal with it. They came at you harder then the other hives, were set off easier etc but didn't come after you unless you were messing around in the hive

While supposedly more genetically aggressive toward mites I found their end of year mite counts to be just as high as all my other hives and breeds. One of the two hives did not make it thru winter but the fact that one out of two DID make it thru winter is a good thing considering the winter we had. 

we ordered about 10 queens and the first order I only think three survived. No fault of Beeweavers as they appeared to have been run over by a fork lift or something during shipping. Beeweaver replaced them no charge so, IMO, excellent customer service. 

I will be ordering more from them to attempt some more nucs and requeen one of my hives. I did split the surviving hive and hopefully will have it survive as well. 

My opinion is that they may not be the "Magic bullet" for mites that I had hoped but good company, good product and if you can get them to survive the winter appear to have a decent spring buildup. 

That being said I have way to small of a sample to say they are all this way. About the only thing I would say is that for the most part they appear to be slightly more aggressive then Italians or carnies as that was the case with all the hives we had which ended up in three different locations with three different keepers. 

~Matt


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

Seems as though I've read that aggression is one of the traits that is most easily bred out of a stock. If that's so, maybe the mite resistance can be preserved, while working toward gentler bees.


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## ethanhogan (Jun 1, 2016)

This is a great thread to dig back up! I am considering Texas buckfast, and yes I understand the chance of getting some hot ones. After reading bee weaver and r weaver website they seem to be actively trying to get back to a less aggressive bee. Are there any more recent stories of either company and their bees??


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

I would be interested to hear what people think of the R Weaver Buckfast. My understanding from our former state apiarist was that once upon a time R Weaver imported some Buckfast semen, and that current regs make it hard if not impossible for them to keep what they have as Buckfast. I lack specific knowledge and hope there may be some here who can enlighten me. Importing from Canada is expensive, though if I can do it, I see no reason why Weaver can't.


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

My experience with them about 4 years ago or so was they were gentle and good producers. Back then I did not pay much attention to mites, just used a sticky board. When they requeened themselves, they were very aggressive and I had to kill the queens ( unnerving for me). I have small future beekeepers around so I didn't want them to get stung and scare them from beekeeping. Last year someone local took an order and bought some Furguson buckfast; very gentle and so far wintering good. Peter Borst had them also (R Weaver) and complained of the same thing.


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## ethanhogan (Jun 1, 2016)

Clover, 
I will be ordering from ferguson, but I think I am pretty far down the list and prolly won't get my queens till July unfortunately. Either way I will be getting them and hopefully enjoying them for years to come! That's the only advantage to rweaver is gettinf queens earlier, but I don't think I want to worry with super aggressive bees.


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

ethanhogan said:


> Clover,
> I will be ordering from ferguson, but I think I am pretty far down the list and prolly won't get my queens till July unfortunately. Either way I will be getting them and hopefully enjoying them for years to come! That's the only advantage to rweaver is gettinf queens earlier, but I don't think I want to worry with super aggressive bees.


We didn't get ours till July 4 and probably the same time this year too; well worth the wait. I will let the bees from last year swarm and try and get the genetics out there.


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## ethanhogan (Jun 1, 2016)

Perfect! Thanks for the reply. What do you usually pay for shipping to the states?


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

I've have got beeweaver queens the last two years just to see if I could be treatment free with them. Yes they can survive longer with a high mite count but not long enough to make it to spring. So this year I've got four more queens but they are getting treatments just like th other bees I have. I did notice that they make small cell comb very well drawing out small cell foundation and making their own natural comb. One of the queens I got last year was a great egg machine but the bees were very runny and swarmed away on me I just couldn't keep up with with that one. I have two of the four queens and they are looking good if they make it they will be my breeding stock for this year.


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

ethanhogan said:


> Perfect! Thanks for the reply. What do you usually pay for shipping to the states?


There is a local guy that drives up and has an order so we pay 30+ per queen; not sure how much you would pay though.


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## Swarmhunter (Mar 5, 2015)

Bought 3 beeweaver Queens last July 1st. Started them in med. 8 frame singles. 
Treated with apiguard Aug-Sept. Had a good flow in this area last Fall. They filled 3 med. boxes by the end of Oct. They are not bees that you can work in your T-shirt like some of my other yards but a little smoke and they're OK. Mountain camp sugar put on in Nov. 90% of the sugar still there end of Feb. and the bees are doing terrific. Going to fill this yard with beeweaver and test them long-term.
Jerry


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## DavidZ (Apr 9, 2016)

just order your ferguson buckfasts from Eversweet here in the USA, they do bulk orders all the time from Canada.

you can avoid the AHB from BWeavers, which are getting hotter. and that's a proven fact.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

DavidZ said:


> just order your ferguson buckfasts from Eversweet here in the USA, they do bulk orders all the time from Canada.
> 
> you can avoid the AHB from BWeavers, which are getting hotter. and that's a proven fact.


Eversweet does not ship queens. You'll need to make a WV road trip to pick them up.
"Please include 6% WV sales tax in your payment. We do not ship queens; pick-up only. They are shipped to us & re-shipping would cause too much stress on them."
That's a proven fact. :lpf:


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

DavidZ said:


> just order your ferguson buckfasts from Eversweet here in the USA, they do bulk orders all the time from Canada.
> 
> you can avoid the AHB from BWeavers, which are getting hotter. and that's a proven fact.


I haven't had any hot bees from beeweaver. Do you have any AHB in your area?


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Dan the bee guy said:


> I haven't had any hot bees from beeweaver. Do you have any AHB in your area?


They get hot when they requeen themselves.


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

Cloverdale said:


> They get hot when they requeen themselves.


That explains it the new queen mated with aggressive bees giving you the hot bees. Beeweaver floods their mating yards with their own bees to keep the hot AHB minimized.


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## gtwarren1966 (Jul 7, 2015)

I ordered 2 Bweavers with a July 5 delivery. I plan on starting 2 nucs with them. I guess we'll see after a few weeks how they act but I don't work bees in tank top and shorts either.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

DavidZ said:


> just order your ferguson buckfasts from Eversweet here in the USA, they do bulk orders all the time from Canada.
> 
> you can avoid the AHB from BWeavers, which are getting hotter. and that's a proven fact.


Who 'proved' it, when? The recent (last three years) queens from BWeaver have been markedly less aggressive than in years past. I purchased 12 last year, was working them without gloves yesterday, very little smoke needed, only one sting when i pinched a bee. Just saying...


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

gtwarren1966 said:


> I ordered 2 Bweavers with a July 5 delivery. I plan on starting 2 nucs with them. I guess we'll see after a few weeks how they act but I don't work bees in tank top and shorts either.


I luv the beeweaver bees and I work them in t shirt and shorts


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

BWeaver queens-they advertise "_...*a hybrid *of the Italian & Buckfast breeds that Weaver Apiaries sold for decades."_ Not pure Buckfast, by their own definition...

Other southern Buckfast queen sources have proven to be both remarkably gentle in many cases, and AHB crossed on rare occasions ( personal experience). Those southern March & April queens can be utilized to build up a nice early nuc for the late arriving Fergies. A nuc that goes "hot" can slip into the deep freeze at a moment's notice. That happened to me once last year, and twice in the past 3 years. It's amazing how hot a little 5 frame medium AHB cross can become!!!

Ferguson Queens are rarely available before late June due to the colder climate & later queen rearing season up there. Ours have always come in July. Shipping ( & customs & import fee) is ~$90, whether you buy one or fifty, so pooling an order make a lot of sense. I believe they went up to $40, Canadian, per queen ( ~$35, US) last year.


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## Kalteisen (Mar 17, 2017)

I'm reviving this thread in the hopes that those of you who requeened with bweavers in 2016-17 would provide some feed back in terms of temperament and performance. Any first hand experiences would be helpful. Thanks.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

Colobee said:


> BWeaver queens-they advertise "_...*a hybrid *of the Italian & Buckfast breeds that Weaver Apiaries sold for decades."_ Not pure Buckfast, by their own definition...


RWeaver sells a Buckfast line, BWeaver does not.


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## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

From what I understand BeeWeaver has acknowledged the merging of their lines whereas RWeaver has not officially done so. As far as temperament and performance I have been told both are good from both vendors. BeeWeaver also sells an Italian queen line that is sub-contracted and not their "better" line, but it is available earlier in the season.

If my current graft goes poorly, I'll be getting some for expansion due to timing; but I don't like the idea of spending the money. Someone else will have to comment on hands on experience and using Texas queens in WI.


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

I made a split with a BWeaver queen same time I purchased a local nuc this early May . BWeaver queen is out laying the local queen hands down. I use a jacket and smoke always , but they dont seem defensive no head butts or chasers .


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Kalteisen said:


> I'm reviving this thread in the hopes that those of you who requeened with bweavers in 2016-17 would provide some feed back in terms of temperament and performance. Any first hand experiences would be helpful. Thanks.


I have some from September and October 2016. Some made a crop, some tried to swarm and got split in early spring, those queen cell splits did well, others made half a crop and went drone layer in July (poorly mated?) and began to get robbed out. Temper was fine.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

odfrank said:


> I have some from September and October 2016. Some made a crop, some tried to swarm and got split in early spring, those queen cell splits did well, others made half a crop and went drone layer in July (poorly mated?) and began to get robbed out. Temper was fine.


I'm not in the North, but had very similar results odfrank...and two of twelve went drone layer this year. I would have expected them to supersede, but they didn't.


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## dennis crutchfield (Aug 5, 2016)

no problem In Missouri, they winter well. they will produce brood late. so the need to double check on how much honey they have before winter. to be safe


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