Rhody Bees?
I got a nice treat this morning as the front page of the ProJo featured a story and a large picture of Rhode Island beekeepers. Mark Robar is putting together a queen rearing operation to raise queens suited for the Ocean State's climate (almost all our queens now come from Georgia, South Carolina and other southern states).
A lot of people use Italian bees, Apis mellifera ligustica, because they're gentle and get started quickly in the spring. I can't think of a more appropriate breed to get acclimated to RI. Is Apis mellifera federal hillicus in our future?
Queen rearing is a whole 'nother bag of cats from beekeeping. It involves a little biology, a little alchemy and a little luck. I'd like to try my hand at it eventually, maybe after expanding my modest apiary to more than the three hives I work now. But until then, I can't wait to get a queen from Mark and company. I'm sure they'll be successful because, the ProJo tells me, my friend Whitney is helping them out (so maybe I'll try to finagle some free "experimental" queens out of the operation…)