Beginner in Central Oklahoma w 91 acre tree farm with a large creek running through it with wild native trees, planted evergreens and hardwoods, new fruit tree orchard and upland dry prairie areas native grasslands with large wild sand plum thickets. My question is can I start multiple hives with different varieties of bees just to see how they do in different parts of the farm? I can have three different hives each of which would be half a mile away from the others. Or is that just a foolish idea? I was thinking about Buckfast in the areas that are cooler forest and perhaps Italian in the areas that are warmer and more exposed..
Welcome to beekeeping and the forum, Brad.
There’s nothing wrong with having multiple varieties of bees, though with such a small number of hives, the results will be inconclusive. There are so many variables already:
- personality of the queen (genetic traits), such as calm, productive, low mite counts
- available forage at a particular time and duration
- available water source
- exposure to sun, wind, etc
- predators
Even hives with queens from the same mother in the same apiary can behave and develop very differently. Also, any new queens from swarms will mate with drones from any hive so the only way to keep your lines pure is to replace queens with stock from a breeder.
Bees are highly adaptable. Unless you have hundreds or thousands of hives and you’re selecting stock to squeeze a few more percent productivity (profit) long term, there’s not a whole lot to gain.
I would focus on learning your new craft for now. There’s enough challenge in the basics and keeping your bees healthy in the first few years. Then, when you think you have it worked out, they’ll throw a curve ball, so you learn some more.
Most importantly, have fun.
Mike