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 several key steps:

1. Beekeeper selection: Beekeepers who participate in the program are carefully chosen based on their commitment to conservation and adherence to the selection criteria.
2. Colony selection: Colonies are selected based on specific criteria, such as color index, gentleness, calmness, swarming behavior, and brood solidness. Colonies that do not meet these standards are not allowed to participate in the program.
3. Queen bee selection: Virgin queen bees are chosen from selected colonies based on their ideal morphological and ethological characteristics, superior production characteristics, and strong cleaning behavior.
4. Mating: The selected queen bees are open mated at mating stations, surrounded only by Authentic Apis mellifera carnica colonies.
5. Monitoring and control: Colonies are registered, controlled, and of known origin to ensure the proper implementation of the selection program.
6. Production of queen bees: The production queen bees, suitable for re-queening swarm production, establishing new apiaries, refreshing breeding material, and starting a new maternal or drone line, are obtained from the selected colonies.

The basic selection program for Apis mellifera carnica in Slovenia aims to maintain the genetic purity and superior characteristics of the local subspecies, ensuring its long-term survival and conservation

In this kind of design, the introduction of foreign genetic material into the population is allowed, thereby reducing the risk of inbreeding. Performance testing with sister queen groups placed in different testing apiaries is particularly useful for the calculation of breeding values.
More simply, significant differences among families, distributed across different apiaries, reveal a heritable effect of the performance.

An example of an open breeding scheme is the following (from Cornuet and Chevalet, 1987):
First generation: selection based on individual values.
Second generation: colonies ranked according to selection index or breeding value (combination of performance and pedigree data) – the best 10 colonies are used for queen and drone production.
Mating occurs in mating station where selected and unselected drones are present.

Standard methods for rearing and selection of
Apis mellifera queens; IBRA 2013
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