Queenbreeding with Buckfast bees, selection and sale.

Buckfast breeding.

Since 1998 I have worked with breeding, and selection, of Buckfast bees after the principles laid down by Brother Adam, the famous monk from Buckfast Abbey. The first 3 years as an employee, and apprentice, by the late Poul Erik Sørensen, who at that time was the top breeder in the danish Buckfast breeding community. Beside my work at his operation, I'd build up my own beekeeping from pure hobby to a good sideline business.

After more than 15 years of intense work, I have developed and stabilised my own breeding strain.

As most beekeepers will know, who has been in touch with queenbreeding, things are not permanent. A strain of bees has to be maintained, renewed and constantly tended for, to keep it in full vigour an with high vitality.

The fundamentals in danish Buckfast breeding today, can be summed up to the following:

 Consistent and persistent breeding, where negative traits are culled out ruthlessly.
The good traits of stable lines must constantly be evaluated, and when needed supplied with fresh genetic material, to maintain the vitality of the lines.
Breeding and selection is not a constant. Traits and needs of the present day has to be incorporated in the strain, without loosing the good, and important, traits already present.
Resistance agains pests and diceases are paramount today. Nosema tolerance and hygienic behaviour is already well establised traits. Varroa tolerance is still in its youth, but good signs are present.

As a starting point for our own breeding lines, we prefer the subspecies Caucasica, Carpatica and if available Anatolica.

The aim in our breeding and selection scheme, can be condensed into one sentence:

A maintenance free bee, with the highest possible yield per minute of labour laid in each colony.

 

In more words:

We do not aim for an extremely high yield on the single colony, as this kind of colony most often needs a higher level of tending for. The focus must, in our view, be on the total yield of the whole stock. A uniform yield on all colonies, with a lower input of labour hours, will in the end give a higher economical output of the whole beekeeping operation.