Hi Andy,
 
you asked me to give some more information on Carniolan
bee. It won't be easy. First, I'm not good writer in
English language, and second, I'm not a specialist in
selection of honey bee.
Anyway, I can write something about my experience with
keeping bees in Slovenia. I'm also involved in
Slovenian Beekeeping Society. I have some inside in
organization of queen rearing and selection program in
Slovenia. Some of those information I will try to share
with Bee-liners.
   You can expect in future more available information
also on electronic lines. In the moment only few of
Slovenian beekeepers or bee researchers are using
Internet. I'm trying to involve more of them. Specially
on Bee-L list.
   I don't have jet any English written papers
specially about Carniolan bee. I will try to get some
from my friends. Before that I will try to write
something from my beekeeping experience.
 
For the beginning:
SWARMING IN CARNIOLAN BEE
    Carniolan bee is described as one of the races
which has the highest tendency to swarm. That's only
partially true. In the last century trading with bee
swarms was widely developed in Carniolan county.
Selling the natural swarms were the easiest way to sell
bee families. That was the basic reason that beekeepers
appreciated swarming. They were able to get 3 to 4
families from a one during the season. Bees were also
kept in small hives to facilitate swarming behavior.
Latter, development of modern hives brought a big
changes in beekeeping technology. Beekeepers were able
to produce new colonies with taking a few combs from a
hive and put in another one. Parallel with that also
queen rearing was developed. Swarming suddenly become
unnecessary, not only that. Beekeepers didn't want it
anymore. They started with selection program to reduce
swarming behavior and to facilitate supersedure. Now,
you can find bee lines with low tendency for swarming
behavior and relative high tendency for supersedure. My
first teacher in beekeeping has such bees. And there
are also others. Beekeeping practice has shown that it
is possible to reduce swarming behavior with selection.
In a country like Slovenia, where are very different
climate regions, bees from one place can't be as good
in another place. Bees which have low tendency for
swarming in one region can show a high swarming
tendency in other region. Beekeepers are sometimes very
unsatisfied with new queens bought from other regions.
That is the reason, that most of the larger beekeepings
have their own queen raring and selection program.
    At the end, swarming is no more a big problem in
keeping Carniolan bee families. A proper technology and
selection leave that at the margin of current
beekeeping problems. The most important topics are now
bee diseases (Varroa mites and chalkbrood) and honeydew
forage, at list for Slovenian beekeepers.
 
        Sincerely,
                   Janko
 
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Janko Bozic
OFFICE:
Department of Zoology & Physiology
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