Name: Meyer Bees
Price range: $

Carniolan queen bee is a mated and marked laying queen in 3-hole cage with queen candy and attendants.

Carniolan queen bees are favored among beekeepers for several reasons, not the least being its ability to defend itself successfully against insect pests while at the same time being extremely gentle in its behavior toward beekeepers. These Carniolan honey bees are particularly adept at adjusting worker population to nectar availability. It relies on these rapid adjustments of population levels to rapidly expand worker bee populations after nectar becomes available in the spring, and, again, to rapidly cut off brood production when nectar ceases to be available in quantity. It meets periods of high nectar with high worker populations and consequently stores large quantities of honey and pollen during those periods. They are resistant to some diseases and parasites that can debilitate hives of other subspecies.

Carniolan Honeybee Strengths

Considered to be gentle and non-aggressive
Can be kept in populated areas
Sense of orientation considered better than the Italian honey bee
Less drifting of bees from one hive to a neighboring hive
When compared to the Italian honey bee, they are not as prone to rob honey
Able to overwinter in smaller numbers of winter bees
Honey stores are conserved
Able to quickly adapt to changes in the environment
Better for areas with long winters
Fast rhythm of brood production and then brood rearing reduction when available forage decreases
Low use of propolis
Resistant to brood diseases
For areas with strong spring nectar flow and early pollination
Carniolan queen bee colonies forage earlier in the morning and later in the evening, and on cool, wet days
Workers live up to 12% longer than other breeds