Types Of Honey Bee Breeds - An Illustrated Guide

A B E E K E E P E R ' S G U I D E TO

BEE BREEDS

Italian | Buckfast | Cordovan | Carniolan | Caucasian | Russian | Africanized

ITALIAN

Apis mellifera ligustica The Italian honey bee has a gentle nature, making inspections relatively stress-free for beekeepers. They also keep a tidy hive and are excellent foragers, building large hives with lots of honey.

On the downside, they require a lot of pollen and honey to get through winter and are prone to drifting and swarming.

Strengths

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Weaknesses

Gentle, non-aggressive bees.

Hardworking and excellent at foraging.

A prolific queen that lays a lot of eggs fast.

Good housekeepers.

Excellent at building out comb.

Easy to spot the queen in the hive.

High consumers of stored honey and pollen.

Maintain a larger colony through winter.

Tendency to drift and swarm.

Slow to begin developing in spring.

Susceptible to mites and some diseases.

Researchers believe Italian bees originated from the southern region of Italy. They are an adaptable race that may have lived through the last ice age. In 1859, Italian honey bees were introduced to America, where they soon replaced German bees (aka black bees). Over time, Italian bees have found their way onto every continent except Antarctica.

Italian Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence

BUCKFAST Apis mellifera

Buckfast honey bees are a hybrid race of several breeds including the North Italian and native British honey bees. Originally developed by Brother Adam in the 1900s, they were bred for resistance to the tracheal mite. Buckfast bees are ideal for beginner beekeepers as they’re good honey producers, gentle, and have a low tendency to swarm. They also tolerate cold climates and have excellent resistance to parasitic mites.

Strengths

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Weaknesses

High tracheal mite resistance.

Tolerates cold, wet climates.

Gentle and easy to work with.

Frugal with honey resources through winter.

Extremely low swarming instinct.

Hygienic with a low incidence of wax moth.

Prolific queens that will lay a lot of eggs.

Less readily available than other more common breeds.

Second-generation bees are likely to be more aggressive.

Need to re-order Buckfast queens to maintain their gentle behavior.

Tendency to robbing.

Buckfast or Italian bees? Both varieties have a gentle nature and are excellent honey producers. Buckfast honey bees have a lower tendency to swarm, overwinter better, and have greater resistance to mites. Italian bees are easier to source, can requeen on their own, and are a better option if your goal is pollinating crops.

Buckfast Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence

CORDOVAN Apis mellifera ligustica

Cordovan bees are one of the easiest varieties to recognize thanks to their beautiful golden color. Not technically a race of their own, they are a subset of the Italian bee. The Cordovan is like an Italian bee, sharing the same characteristics. However, these traits are often more pronounced.

Strengths

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Weaknesses

Docile, non-aggressive bees.

Build up brood fast in early spring.

Low tendency to swarm.

High standards of hive hygiene.

Great to look at and easy to spot the queen.

Quickly identify if the hive has been Africanized.

Tendency to rob other hives.

Doesn’t deal well with varroa mites.

The hive eats a lot of honey.

Aren’t ideally suited to cold climates.

Harder to find than Italian bees.

A Cordovan bee is easy to spot thanks to its striking light-yellow body and less-defined stripes. They are often called golden or blonde bees. Unlike Italian bees which have a black head and legs, the Cordovan’s are burgundy or reddish-brown. The queen has an even lighter-colored body which makes her easy to spot on frames. Beekeepers who enjoy spotting their queen will appreciate this distinction from other breeds.

Cordovan Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence

CARNIOLAN Apis mellifera carnica

Carniolans are generally good-natured bees that are ideal for beginners. They are hard-working, adapt well to foraging conditions, and have good pest resistance. A hive of Carniolan bees will grow fast when surrounded with abundant food sources, so space should be closely monitored to avoid swarming.

Strengths Very early to start foraging.

Non-aggressive bees most of the time.

Quickly adjust brood production as required.

Frugal users of honey stocks in winter.

Spend longer each day foraging.

Don’t tend to drift or rob like some bee races.

Suitable for urban areas if managed properly.

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Weaknesses Aren’t happy dealing with long, hot summers.

Tendency to swarm as they can quickly outgrow their space.

Often need supplemental feeding in early spring.

Queen can be difficult to spot if she isn’t marked.

Carniolan or Italian bees? Both bee races are excellent options, building big hives in the right conditions and providing good honey at harvest. Beekeepers may find Italian bees are a little less aggressive and have a lower tendency to swarm. Carniolans manage pests more aggressively, work longer in the day, and start foraging earlier in spring than Italian honey bees.

Carniolan Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence

CAUCASIAN Apis mellifera caucasia

Caucasian bees are a calm and gentle race and are a good option for beginner beekeepers. Caucasians are a mountain bee, so they store honey near their brood. They also won’t start building out new comb until the current one is completely full. Of all the bee races, the Caucasian takes the award for the longest proboscis. This is the insect’s tongue, which can measure up to 7.3mm. Deep tube flowers are easy game for this bee.

Strengths

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Weaknesses

Calm and gentle race.

Ideal for beginner beekeepers.

Big honey producers.

Excellent in cold climates.

Suitable for urban landscapes.

Messy builders that love making propolis and burr comb.

Disease prone with resistance to Nosema disease.

Tendency to rob and drift between hives.

Not as popular as they were in the 1900s.

Caucasian queen bees have a similar temperament to the rest of the colony. They are typically well-natured with low aggression levels. The queen is one of the most productive on offer and is often compared to the Carniolan queen for its prolific character traits.

Some European bee races have queens that take up to 3 days to assimilate with a new hive.

However, a Caucasian queen will have settled into her new conditions within 1-2 hours.

Caucasian Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence

RUSSIAN Apis mellifera

Russian honey bees are from the Primorsky Krai region of Russia. Since their arrival to the United States in 1997, they have grown in popularity amongst local beekeepers. They have excellent pest tolerance combined with high levels of productivity. Beekeepers in America’s northern states will also appreciate their overwintering abilities.

Strengths

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Weaknesses

Good resistance to varroa mites, tracheal mites, and various other common pests.

A popular race that is easy to buy in the United States.

Excellent for overwintering in cold climates.

Productive bees that are good for honey production.

Struggle in climates that don’t have cold winters.

More aggressive than Carniolan and Caucasians.

Likely to swarm if they aren’t managed well during periods of excess pollen and nectar.

Requeening is more challenging and timeconsuming.

Russian bees are a moderately gentle race that can get a little more aggressive at times. The Russian bee pays close attention to its available foraging resources. During times of dearth and food shortage, brood production will be massively scaled back. This is a useful feature if your hives are located in a climate where forage is heavily dependent on the season.

Russian Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence

AFRICANIZED Apis mellifera scutellata The Africanized honey bee is a mix of European honey bee species combined with the African honey bee. Also known as the killer bee, this hybrid race is well-known for its willingness to attack. It is not used by hobbyist or commercial beekeepers and is considered a major threat to apiaries in the United States.

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Do they offer any benefits?

While there’s a lot that’s not right about these bees, they do have their uses. In tropical climates, these bees are responsible for successfully pollinating up to 30% of local flora.

Some argue that Africanized bees are better pollinators as they are less focused on honey production and more on colony growth. This requires more aggressive foraging which helps with crop pollination. A major strength of these bees is their resistance to some of the most debilitating diseases and pests. Threats like American foulbrood, varroa mites, small hive beetle, and tracheal mites aren’t as problematic as they are for European bees.

African vs. Africanized African honey bees are a race of bees that are native to Africa and are productive honey producers. Africanized bees are a mix of African and European honey bees that are highly aggressive and don’t produce much honey. They originated from Brazil and inhabit South, Central, and North America.

Africanized Bee Dashboard Stats Gentle Natured

Early Forager

Honey Producer

Swarm Tendency

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Varroa Resistence

Tracheal Resistence