Hobbies And Interests
Italian Bees
Brought to America in 1859, today Italian bees are the most commonly used in managed hives. Their scientific name is Apis mellifera ligustica and they are preferred for their nonaggressive behavior and long rearing times. This means Italian bees can produce honey throughout the spring and into late summer. Yet these bees have also been known to raid weaker or dead hives, increasing the chance of the hive acquiring a fatal disease.
German Bees
German honeybees were brought to America as early as the 17th century and are commonly called black bees for their dark coloring. Their scientific name is Apis mellifera mellifera and while they are able to survive harsh winters they are also notoriously defensive and hard to manage. These bees are rare today in apiaries and in the wild because of their susceptibility to foulbrood diseases.
Carniolan Bees
Apis mellifera carnica, or the Carniolan bee, hails from Eastern Europe and has many desirable qualities as an apiary bee. They are docile bees who do not raid other hives, decreasing the chance of the hive acquiring a disease. Carniolan bees also have a rapid brood build in the spring that allows them to harvest early blooms. Their wax is strong and often used in beeswax candles, cosmetics and soaps. However, these bees do have a high likelihood of swarming, causing a loss in the honey crop.
Caucasian Bees
Caucasian bees are native to the Ural mountains in eastern Europe, but were at one time popular in America. Their scientific name is Apis mellifera caucasica. These bees possess a longer tongue than most races, allowing them to reach nectar stores that are unavailable to other bees. While they are docile bees they also have low honey harvests and their hives can be hard to open due to the large amount of bee glue they secrete.
Buckfast Bees
Breed first by a monk at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England these bees were created to combat acarine disease, which decimated British hives in the 1920s. Buckfast bees are breed mainly from Italian bees and are able to survive especially well in British climates. They are strong honey producers and are known to be clean bees, reducing the change of hive diseases or parasites.
Russian Bees
These bees of Russian stock have been purposely imported to the United States because of their natural resistance to the parasite Varroa destructor, which can rapidly destroy hives. Since 2000 these bees have been available in the U.S. for commercial stock. Russian bees are clean bees and their brooding behavior fluctuates with the environment. They are shown to do best when not crossbred with other species, which can decreased their parasite resistance.