The primary characteristics we use when selecting colonies are all expressions of their behaviour when handled. The bees should remain calm on the combs and not run or take flight, we should see no guarding, stinging, or following. We are looking for gentle, docile bees that can be worked in any weather with little or no smoke, and who are tolerant of rough handling. We should be comfortable manipulating colonies headed by good breeder queens without any protective clothing, and a minimum of smoke. Good behaviour is not a luxury, and not just for teaching beginners, but an essential part of efficient colony management. Overly defensive or active bees make inspections laborious, finding or introducing queens time consuming, and discourage operations in anything but perfect conditions. They are a nuisance, if not a liability, in the suburban surroundings most of our beekeepers inhabit, and do not promote skilled and considerate handling. Using a lot of smoke in a bee-house can be unpleasant too! Of secondary importance, but still vital, are those characteristics that describe the colony's performance. In general we look for a good-sized, dense, brood nest, and disregard anything more subtle. From our point of view, an objective, rigorous selection is pointless unless you are in the business of queen breeding, which Blackhorse is not. At Blackhorse we undertake queen rearing, and produce stocks from queens supplied by professional, reputable, queen breeders. Our main concern is to maintain the quality of the breeding when rearing successive queens.

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