The Superior Carniolan Bees
Carniolans are about
the similar size of the Western European bees but with a slimmer abdomen. They
can also be distinguished by their hairy grayish brown colored stripes hence
they are also called as the gray bees. The long tongue of the Carniolans (which
ranges 6.5 – 6.7 mm) makes it suitable to seek nectar from cloves. They also
have very short hair and a very high elbow join.
Carniolan bees (Apis mellifera carnica), which are also called as carniolans. The
English term for these bees is ‘carnies’ which at this moment is the second
most popular honey bee among beekeepers after the well known Italian bee. This
bee is native to Slovenia (Carniola
is a place in Slovenia ) including
to some other regions like southern Austria ,
parts of Romania , Hungary and Bulgaria
and some areas of the former Yugoslavia
The carniolans possesses a lot of benefits
and superiority compared to other bees, hence they are most favored among
beekeepers. They are known as gentle and non-aggressive bees which make the
beekeepers feel save while working with them. They can also be kept in
populated areas with less bees drifting from one hive to another beehive.
Unlike the Italian bees, Carniolan bees are less prone to rob honey.
The Carniolan bees are also known to be
very proficient in adjusting their worker bee population to the availability of
nectar. They are able to make the adjustment very swiftly. As soon as they
detect the increasing availability of nectar in springtime they multiply their
worker bee population and with the same speed they can swiftly cut of their
offspring production when nectar availability is decreasing. With such speedy
increase of worker bees, their ability to collect large amount of honey will be
very beneficial to the beekeeper.
Another benefit is that these bees are
quite resistant to brood diseases which in the case of other bees could easily
spread and weaken hives of other bee subspecies. A Carniolan worker bee has a
longer lifespan of about 12% compared to other bees. In terms of hive
management, the beekeeper needs only a small amount of propolis to seal the
unwanted open spaces or small gaps in the hives.
Carniolans are more suitable for areas with
long winters, where they can survive in smaller number of worker bees while
keeping their honey storage at its maximum. They are also very useful in areas
with strong nectar flows. They will look for honey early in the morning or late
evening when the days are wet and cool.
In spite of their benefits, Carniolans
possess also some disadvantages, which include their proneness to swarming when
overcrowded, less ability to thrive during hot summer weather, their broodnest
strength depends on pollen availability and the fact that it isn’t easy to find
the carniolan dark queen bee among thousands of other worker bees.
