Right race queens to buy?

[ccar2000]

Hello,
I live in Littlerock CA 93543. I am in the high desert @ 3,000', USDA zone 8. I am on my third time starting keeping bees. The first attempt was two nucs of Italian mutts from a somewhat local beekeeper. My second start was Russian/Carniolian from a reputable breeder in Northern CA. The bees seemed to build well, two deep brood boxes and a medium super each but dwindled in size and starved out before spring. This year I bought the Russian/Carniolians again and am planning on treating them for Nosema per the breeders recommendation. I provided no treatment to the prior hives. At this point I plan on making two or three splits this summer to increase the odds of overwintering and naturalizing in hope of going without treatment. I was wondering if someone could recommend one or two races of bees for my area. Thank you for your time.

[Michael Bush]

The right race would be local bees that already survive in your climate...

[ccar2000]

I know that would be optimum. However, I have not been successful in finding a beekeeper in my area. The one I got my nucs from was about 65 miles and two valleys away. There are bees here I know because they started robbing mt dead outs! So, I have to start somewhere. It seems as though it would be easier with the right direction?

[AllenF]

Have you tried  http://bascbees.org/ 
 
If not  http://www.californiastatebeekeepers.com/affiliatedclubs.htm

[ccar2000]

Thanks Allen,
My first two nucs I bought through the BASC folks.
I will try to check in with the LA County Beekeepers Association.

[VolunteerK9]

Why not just let them raise their own? Take the queen with a 5 frame split, then make other splits from the queen cells.