# New World Carniolan



## Dave E (Jan 8, 2011)

I am going to start keeping bees agian this spring. I have 2 packages of New World Carniolans with my name on them. I have only kept italians. Any suggestions? How resistant to mites are they?

Dave


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Bees don't become resistant to mites. Bees are now being bred to be able to cope with mites. 

How well do NWC cope with mite pressure? That all depends on what line of NWC you are purchasing.


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## Dave E (Jan 8, 2011)

ya, I realise I will have to fight them in some manner. I was just asking if they are known to require less treatment than others.

Dave


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I bought a NWC package from Ray Oliverez in Chico last April. Very good queen.
Made 3 nucs from her, & she produced 100# of honey.
All 4 hives are still alive, with near 0 mite counts yesterday.
Treated with drone removal, & powdered sugar dusting last year. Mite numbers went up Oct, & Nov. was dusting them 3 times a weak.
Sue Colby is still making improvements in the NWC lines. She got permission to import new sperm last year, & is working on the line in Washington State.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Note: Not all Rays carni's are NWC as far as I know. I think they source a couple of different avenues in the carni breeder corner. If thats where you are getting them from you should do well no matter what "brand" you get. With all the bees up there I doubt you will get all CARNI drones in the mix anyhow.

As others have noted below they are not known as a mite resistant line like the Russians are. You will generally see a smaller cluster than Italians this time of year. Get ready to wear your veil and use the smoker a little more often than with the Italians. The crew over at a great NWC breeder near by me (RS) used to refer to them as the "biting itches" if you know what I mean. 

Keep us posted as to how they do.


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

I have two NWC hives that I bought as nucs in June. They queens came from Strachan Apiaries. Those hives built up very fast. They drew and filled 5 frames of honey in 1 week.

I found them to be less aggressive that the Italians. My Italians are pretty dosile most days the the NWC were very calm and predictable.

I am happy with my NWC's. They built up very fast and were mega honey producers compared to the italians this year.


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## Laurence Hope (Aug 24, 2005)

Dave, I will second Michae B. I too, started some packages from Strachan this past year.
The bees were gentle, built faster than any I have previously seen and made more honey
(avg about 30 frames ea) and still had plenty to leave for winter. I am going to go to some more carnis this year.


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## markmaster (Jan 21, 2010)

Wonder how well Carni's would stand up to our Alabama summers? We have long periods of hot, humid weather, but usually have enough forage along the creek banks and fields for survival (it's a low production period).


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

maybe just a few things mentioned above is why I don't run any pure lines.but a mix of several, more resistance too them. don't take this wrong way all races have there traits some better then others.
Don


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## Dave E (Jan 8, 2011)

Thanks guys. Give me something to think about. My old bees were italian mutts. Pretty darn tough. I treated once in my time having them. They lasted years. I do plan to treat these some, but I really looking for bees with at least some resistance. There are plenty of mites in my area, and I travel for a living. I wont be able to inspect these bees some times for a month or two. I think these are probably a good place to start.

Dave


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## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

That sounds great, however, being a hybrid also adopts the lesser welcome aspects of the bee too. A new strain of bees usually accompanies new strains of mites and other pests in the future. It's like planting Organic or Heirloom seeds opposed to hybrid seeds. The hybrids produce only one year with no seeds and the others do and have survived all the diseases for hundreds of years...Something to think about.... Like hybrid anything, the question is the test of time.


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