Subspecies of Honeybees

Overview

Honey bees in North America are of the species Apis mellifera. There are some sub-species which are commonly found in North America, including:

Carniolan

Apis mellifera
carnica

Because Carniolan bees originated in the Carniolan Alps with mountainous terrain and unpredictable weather, they are prepared to survive in environments with cold seasons and quickly changing weather. Carniolan bees are darker in color.

Quickly react when favorable weather appears, and build up hive numbers fast
Will also reduce the hive's population quickly during a drought
Will swarm earlier in the season to take advantage of the short season

Italian

Apis mellifera
ligustica

These are probably the most seen in North America, if not the whole world.

Work well with long summers and mild winters
Known for large populations
Not known as being overly protective of their hive, thusly they are fairly easy to work
Do not produce high levels of propolis
Do not swarm excessively

Russian

Apis mellifera

Russian honey bees are becoming more available and the number of queen breeders is growing. They are known to survive harsh winters better than other honeybees.

Slow to react when favorable weather appears, and thusly they do no build up hive numbers fast
Can react quickly later in the season, so swarming can be an issue then
Thought to be more aggressive than the other subspecies, especially when the queen mates with a drone which is not Russian
Good resistance to varroa mites, tracheal mites, and other common pests
Excellent for overwintering in cold climates

Additional Notes

There are some beekeepers who believe we really do not have bees which are truly of any distinct sub-species. They argue that there has been so much inter-breeding of the lines that we have more "mutts" now days.

More Information

Books and Papers

ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture. Published by the A.I. Root Company.
The Backyard Beekeeper by Flottum, Kim.
Beekeeping for Beginners by Bradshaw, Amber.

Web Sites

Western Honey Bee (Wikipedia).

About this Site

Disclaimer: eMail comments to me at BeekeepingBoK @ Gmail.com. The process of beekeeping can cause injury or be a health hazard unless proper precautions are taken, including the wearing of appropriate protective equipment.