Buckfast is a favorite breed of beekeepers around the world, bred on the islands of Britain by a modest monk - brother Adam (in the world - Karl Kehrle).
Having devoted his whole life to breeding science, the Englishman from the age of 17 tried to create a breed that would incorporate all the best characteristics.
Buckfast breed history
In 1927, Adam managed to develop a species resistant to tracheal mites, which was called backfast - in honor of the city where this remarkable event took place. New bees were the result of crossing local breeds with Italian. A further goal of the breeding work, Adam set the increase in the profitability of the beekeeping industry, produced by improving and multiplying the beneficial properties of winged insects. The Englishman believed that bees with the right qualities needed to be sought in other countries, and that useful signs be fixed by crossing with the buckfast line.
Valuable features of the breed
In search of suitable genetic material, the breeder traveled all over Europe, the countries of the Middle East, as well as North Africa. In 1960, as a result of crossbreeding with Greek breeds, beef fast bees acquired such valuable traits as peaceability and a low rate of loyalty.
In the 70s, the breed was again improved by crossing with an Anatolian bee from Turkey, as well as Egyptian and Macedonian species. The result of almost seventy years of work was the creation of an artificial breed, one of the best at the present time.
Bee buckfast: characteristic
After breeding, the breed quickly spread to different countries. Today it is quite difficult to meet its purebred representatives, for the most part these are different crossbreeds. The source breed exists in Germany at specialized stations, the purpose of which is to preserve this type of bee.
Externally, the Bakfast bees are very similar to the Italian counterparts: the body color of the correct form is close to brown-yellow, light brown wings, black, hairy average. Recognizable by the slow, unhurried movements of the wings, very friendly, calmly behave towards fellow tribesmen, willingly side by side with a person. Upon examination, the hives go down, are not excited, so many beekeepers work with them without a net and a smoker. Being immigrants from the British Isles, they prefer wet and rainy weather, although they easily get used to different conditions.
Advantages of the Bakfast breed
Brother Adam, who was involved in the breeding of this breed, formulated such requirements for the breed as high honey productivity, effective reproduction of offspring, disruption and disease resistance.
The advantages of modern backfast include:
- Great productivity. Buckfast bees are characterized by the highest rates of honey collection compared to other breeds.
- A small amount of propolis in the nests. Italian "colleagues" clog the hives a lot more.
- High endurance: bees work well in large areas occupied under honey plants.
- Good resistance to pests and diseases. Ascoferosis does not affect bees because of the protection of the brood from hypothermia. Acarapidosis insects do not get sick, because they have tracheas too small in size, not causing interest in ticks.
- Good-natured behavior, peacefulness: bees fastfood, carnica - calmly let the hive be checked at any time of the day.
- Compact, located at the bottom of the family nest. Storage of beef and honey occurs in the upper bodies.
- Increased cleanliness. Buckfast bees always keep their home clean and work so hard that they leave the beekeeper unemployed.
- High ability to carry out long-distance flights. In search of food reserves, insects can travel considerable distances.
- The desire to work from morning to evening and high adaptability to the environment. Adults, remaining always active, are able to work in adverse weather conditions. In foggy, damp, rainy weather, the backfired bees fly around while their compatriots (for example, the Carpathian breed) sit in the hive.
- Phenomenal sense of smell and excellent vision. Buckfast bees can hear your favorite flower from afar. Do not wander, as they are easily oriented in space.
- Excellent reproductive ability of the uterus, which lays eggs without failure, and thereby ensuring a stable growth in the number of colonies.
In addition, the uterus of the bee Buckfast can be actively used for crossbreeding with other breeds;
- Almost absent swarming of families, bees are tied to their hive and can grow up only by oversight of the beekeeper. The use of anti-war methods quickly brings it into working condition.
- The existence of lines for the use of autumn and early spring bribes.
- Possibility of use for industrial purposes.
The combination of the above positive qualities allows you to make high honey collections (about 2 or more kilograms of a high-quality product), so most apiaries choose backfast.
Breed of bees: their lack
In addition to the positive qualities, bee breeds have a number of disadvantages:
- Poor frost resistance. The wintering of the English breed is quite difficult to ensure in the northern regions.
- The complexity in the production of uterus. Of the bred 1500 individuals, only 26 can be selected for sale as breeding. Estimated price of the fetal uterus is 300-2000 euros, infertile costs 30 euros. For practical beekeeping, it would be advisable to use relatively inexpensive uterine bacfast at the F-1 level. In terms of medical productivity, their families often surpass purely pedigree ones. The use of a lower-quality uterus (older than F-1) after a couple of generations will lead to a splitting of symptoms and, as a result, aggressive families.
Content Features
It is recommended that the content of back-up bees gathering in large strong families be made in spacious beehives: the presence of space is an important factor in ensuring their normal functioning.
With a sufficient amount of feed, the uterus will fully demonstrate its reproductive abilities, trying to lay as many eggs as possible. An important advantage of the breed is the appearance of brood in an adjacent frame only after the uterus lays eggs in all cells of one cell.
The subtleties of apiary
For the full disclosure of the family's opportunities for honey collection, it is not recommended to limit its growth. Also, do not use techniques such as selecting a sealed brood and dividing families. In the summer, almost all work comes down to pumping out honey and setting up additional buildings. The beekeeper should try to maximize the strength of the bee family. When weakening a bribe, it is recommended that insects be provided with feed.
Bees are able to fly out of the air at a temperature of +12 ° C. After wintering, the beekeeper's eyes appear to be a clean, without signs of nosematosis and with a neat brood hive.
Buckfast Bee Reviews
According to the reviews of most beekeepers, the maintenance of bee breeds of fast food is economically profitable. Accuracy of insects, minimal swarming and the ability to contact with humans significantly reduce the labor costs of servicing apiaries. Most uterus is advisable to use within 2-3 years, while for other breeds the recommended period is 1-2 years. Despite a lot of debate about what backfast actually is: a hybrid or a breed, for a beekeeper-practitioner this does not matter at all.
The genetic information of this breed is stable, thanks to which the insects retained their basic qualities, for which they were bred. The main thing is that the buckfast bees, the reviews about which make a rather strong impression, are most in line with beekeeping technologies and are considered the best to date.