Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about bee breeds...

Often, beekeepers already have preferences on what they expect from bee colonies. Some ask which bee colonies children and guests can visit safely, others ask which colonies will collect the first spring or winter rapeseed honey, while others - which bee colonies will be easier to overwinter, etc.

There are a lot of questions and depending on the need, it is possible to evaluate and choose the most suitable queen bee/bee colony according to characteristics of races. To make the choice a little easier, we have also prepared answers to the abovementioned and other frequently asked questions.

1. Which race of bee colonies are the most gentle to safely go to the hives with children and guests? Of all the races, the Ligustica (Italian) colonies will be the most gentle. When taking the comb out from the hive, the worker bees will calmly move around like little ambers. They will also be patient if the inspection of the colony takes a longer time.

2. Which race of bee colonies will collect the first spring honey better, incl. winter rapeseed honey? The bee colonies of Carnica will be the most suitable for collecting the first spring honey. Carnica bees have the earliest spring development, so Carnica will have larger bee colonies for the first harvest. Bee colonies with Carpathian "blood" will have an even earlier spring development.

3. Which bee colonies will make better use of the high summer nectar yields? Buckfast and Ligustica will make good use of the high yields in the summer, as they will support large colonies of bees throughout the summer. Carnica bee colonies will perform better during bad weather conditions and with lower available yields.

4. Which bee colonies are easier to overwinter? Both Carnica and Buckfast bee colonies will be easier to overwinter as they will have lower feed consumption and might not require additional feeding in early spring.

5. Which bee colonies will swarm less? Ligustica bee colonies will have the lowest swarming tendency compared to Carnica bee colonies. Of course, swarming will be affected by seasonal expansion of the bee colony, the type of hive chosen, etc.

* Each breed may also have colonies that may perform differently from the characteristics given in the answers, especially Buckfast colonies that cannot be clearly attributed to one type of characteristic. The behaviour of bee colonies can also differ from whether there is a nectar yield in nature and from the beekeeper's beekeeping practices, etc. conditions.

The recommendations and the given characteristics are based on our observations, during evaluation of bee colonies as part of our breeding work. You can also familiarize yourself with the characteristics of each race in detail on our website by looking at the offers of queen bees - https://www.smilga-spalvina.lv/queen-shop/