Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Carniolan honey bees are dark with brownish to dark gray stripes. Queens and drones
have nearly black abdomens. See the queen with the blue spot?
Carniolans
(
Apis mellifera carnica
)
Carniolan honey bees developed in the northern part of southeastern Europe in the area
of the Carniolan Alps, including parts of Austria, Slovenia, and areas north and east
of that region. The mountainous terrain and somewhat unpredictable environment pre-
pared these bees to survive cold winters and to react to quickly changing weather and
seasons. As a result, they react quickly when favorable weather arrives in the spring,
increasing their population rapidly and swarming early to take advantage of a short sea-
son. During the summer, they take advantage of the abundant food, but if drought or
other unfavorable conditions arise they can slow their activity just as rapidly. When fall
approaches, they slow their activity even more, and during the winter they survive with
a small population and consume significantly less food than they do during the growing
season.
Carniolans, unlike Italians, are dark in color. The workers are dark gray to black,
with gray stripes on the abdomen. The queens are all black, and compared side by side,
not as large as Italian queens. Drones are large and have all-black abdomens.
These are the gentlest of all the honey bees. They are quiet on the comb when the
beekeeper examines frames, and they tolerate typical beekeeper management duties.
They also use propolis sparingly and tend to be a bit more forgiving in situations where
burr comb would normally be used.
