Entries by owa

In Defense Of “Defensiveness”

Our hardy Feral Survivor Stock genetics are present in all the queen lines we offer. Although we do consider “gentleness” to be a desirable characteristic in our selection process, we admit that our higher priority is for disease and mite resistance. It is our philosophy that decades of selection for gentleness and honey production, and […]

Danish Report Verifies Nosema Tolerance Possible

J Invertebr Pathol. 2012 Mar;109(3):297-302. Epub 2012 Jan 20.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22285444  Survival and immune response of drones of a Nosemosis tolerant honey bee strain towards N. ceranae infections. Huang Q, Kryger P, Le Conte Y, Moritz RF. Source Institut für Biology/Zoologie, Molekulare Ökologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle, Germany. qiang.huang@zoologie.uni-halle.de Abstract Honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) have […]

Bees Do It

Will the Olympic Peninsula’s hardy honeybees save the world from colony collapse? The last time we checked with Seattle mayor-turned-beekeeper Wes Uhlman, his two hives on Queen Anne Hill were doing fine. It was three years ago, and all across farm country a mysterious syndrome called colony collapse disorder was making bees abandon their doomed […]

Bee Tree

http://www.forksforum.com/news/article.exm/2013-10-24_clallam_bay_buzzes_over_downed_bee_tree Clallam Bay buzzes over downed bee tree Published on Thu, Oct 24, 2013 By Donna Barr, West End North Correspondent When Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Pursley flashed his lights and pulled over behind a backhoe truck parked on the verge on Frontier Street in Clallam Bay, Thursday, Oct. 17, he thought he was only going […]

Background & Lab Reports: OWA Feral Bees

Sample#1 (FERAL BEES) This is our strongest breeder colony.  She is a 2009 Queen.  Entirely untreated; has never exhibited symptoms of dwindling; and has had 4 to 5 brood combs removed and added to weaker colonies throughout the 2011 season, yet remains vigorous. This colony has been tested in the USDA Beltsville Lab 4 times […]

OWA Queens Are Not For Everyone…

Each year we selectively breed a limited number of high-quality regionally adapted honeybee queens for sale. Although customer testimonials give high performance marks to our stock from all over the continental US and Alaska, our queens are not for everyone.  Our breeders are derived from feral lineages that have been self-sustaining in the temperate rainforests of […]