Genetic Stock  - – Johnstons Hardy Honeybees

The bees that Johnstons Honeybee Farm utilizes have been developed since 1991.  That was the last time that we purchased queens from any outside beekeepers.  We started with a Carniolian/ Italian hybrid and have been raising our own queens exclusively since then.  Twice we have suffered overwintering losses of around 75% and have bred from the bees that have survived.  The first loss was caused by the advent of the tracheal mite, an internal parasite of bees; the second loss was caused by advent of the external parasite, varroa jacobsonii.  Since 2003, we have not used drugs to treat these diseases and I believe that we now have bees that are resistant to these two maladies.

Our bees are:

• Winter hardy
• Mite Resistant
• Gentle

We are presently selecting for queens with greater longevity.

The next great challenge will be developing bees with resistance to nosema ceranae, a new form of dysentery that is killing many bee hives throughout the world and which will be particularly devastating to overwintered bees in northern climates.