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RE: 🐝 Beekeeping For Everyone! - #12 - Let's Make Splits & Queens
AND they are getting locally acclimated bees which is a big advantage over package bees from the south. Though I'm not sure where Canada gets packages from. I have a good friend in Nova Scotia and know the bee "laws" are much stricter.
Mostly Kowna and new Zealand because of varoa. issues. You make a vary good point about localised bees. Our queens from the Okanagan BC over winter in Alberta Saskatchewan and Manitoba outside on their first winter. Imported from tropical and semi tropical areas must be wintered inside the first year. If they even survived introduction in the spring. Majority are replaced. due both to the nature of packages and coming from areas with vary different climates.
local bees are far superior to imports provided of course there are enough bees in your area for proper mating. Queens need to mate with lots of drone from different hives to keep the genetic diversity high in the hive. I like to see 20 families in the box one for each drone they mated with.