Basic selection program for Authentic Apis mellifera carnica

The basic selection program for Apis mellifera carnica in Slovenia focuses on the conservation of the autochthonous domestic population and minimizing anthropogenic gene flow from abroad, as well as the presence of hybrids and non-native subspecies. The program involves the careful selection of breeder queens and drone colonies with ideal morphological and ethological characteristics, superior production characteristics, and strongly expressed cleaning behavior.

In all colonies that don’t meet agreed standards Queen bees are eliminated and replaced with Queens from best colonies within apiary or from approved breeding station.

Barvni indeks

1. Calmness – Bees stick to their combs “like fur” without any notable reaction to being handled.

2. Gentleness – No use of smoke and no protective clothes are necessary to avoid stings during normal working procedure.

3. Brood solidness is expressed by the percentage of empty worker cells in a brood patch of a given area. An acceptable level of empty cells is usually less than 10%.