# Survivor bees?



## doodlebug (Jan 26, 2014)

Question:
If you started with 2 nucs, and now have seven hives due to catching your own swarms and are going into your 4th year of beekeeping, would these be considered survivor bees? I don't know if they were ever treated when we got them, but we have never treated with anything. We feed on occasion and only take a little honey. We leave the rest for the bees. I guess you would say they split naturally. I have checked drone cells and found one varrora mite last summer. We don't neglect our hives, we go into them check for problems. Did have a lot of hive beetles this year, which were smashed and killed with beetle blasters. Hoping this is a good spring. We will see! And please don't say they survived despite what we did or didn't do.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

hi db. i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we don't have a set definition for 'survivor bees', but yes, in my opinion you have survivors.

i base that on the many reports that we see here on the forum about commercially produced package bees that if not treated will collapse at the end of their first year or at least come out of winter so weakened that they are not productive.

for my purposes i am more confident in calling a colony a 'survivor' if it has made it through 2 winters, has not gone queenless, and produces a good honey crop. 

unless you are doing something to thwart them, it's very likely that all of your colonies are swarming every year, and this may be part of their defense against varroa.

since i am looking for my bees to be productive and profitable i am practicing swarm prevention and having some success with it. 

my opinion is that the colonies that don't get the benefit in terms of varroa control that swarming offers yet still survive and are productive get extra points.

4 years without collapsing colonies is a pretty good track record. i would consider propagating more your best ones if you are so inclined.


----------



## Clayton Huestis (Jan 6, 2013)

You could say they survive the winter. But if you are talking about being varroa tolerant/ resistant I don't know how I could possibly give you a truthful answer over the net.


----------



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Sounds like you have "Survivor bees". There seem to be a lot in MO, that's how I got started; collecting swarms and swarm traps.

Missourians are tightwads there is even a town name "Tightwad", over the years I can't imagine very many of them paying money for bees, too cheap most would catch there own, keeping local survivor isolated and reducing imported genes. 

Nuc are often local, which may have also picked up enough survivor genes from being open mated.


----------



## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Flowerplanter


> Missourians are tightwads


Hey! I resemble that remark:shhhh:.
Cheers
gww


----------



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

gww said:


> Flowerplanter
> 
> Hey! I resemble that remark:shhhh:.
> Cheers
> gww


LOL 
Me too!


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

lots of wooded lands in the southern part of the state, looks like very favorable habitat for feral survivors.


----------

