Races of Honey Bees

1 . What are the 5 other “races” of honey bees now found in the US and their characteristics?

a. Apis mellifera ligustica: Italian bee. The most popular bees to order in North America. They are known for being gentle, easy to work and not aggressive stingers. They typically build up rapidly in the spring which makes them good honey producers.

b. Apis mellifera caucasica: Caucasian bee. Originating from the Caucasus mountain range, these bees are known for being gentle and are a great choice for beginner beekeepers because they are calm on the comb and less likely to sting. They are darker in color and slow or shut down brood production during a nectar dearth unlike Italian bees. They also love to coat surfaces inside the hive with propolis.

c. Apis mellifera carnica - Carniolan bee. Originating from the Australian Alps, these dark brown to grey colored bees are also considered gentle and easy for beekeepers to work. They do not create as much propolis as the Caucasian bees, but do adjust brood production according to nectar and pollen availability. They are also known to forage on cold, wet days when other bees do not and they rank among the best for overwintering.

d. Russian bees - are a subspecies of honey bee (Apis mellifera) that originated in Primorsky Krai region Russia. They have some measurable degree of tolerance to Varroa destructor and are accustomed to cold climates and overwinter well. They are slow to build up in the spring, but are considered productive.

e. Apis mellifera scutellata – Africanized bee. Native to central, southern and eastern Africa, these bees were introduced into Brazil in the 1950’s and reached the southern US in the 1990’s. These bees are extremely defensive. For example, European races of bees may attack a nest intruder with a few bees (usually no more than 10-20 bees), while Africanized bees may attack the same intruder with hundreds to thousands of bees. Further, Africanized bees generally defend a larger radius around their nest and usually require lower levels of stimuli to initiate an attack.

2 . What threat if any does Apis mellifera scutellata present for Georgia beekeepers?

Although we believe it is unlikely that Africanized honey bees (AHB) are established in Georgia, we cannot state this with 100% certainty. Africanized honey bees were determined to be established in several central Florida counties in 2005. From 2005 to 2010, the Georgia Department of Agriculture deployed traps to capture swarms along the Georgia - Florida border. Although several swarms were captured, none were identified as Africanized. However, on October 21, 2010, a 73-year-old man in Dougherty County died from numerous bee stings he received after disturbing a feral (or wild) bee nest. Laboratory tests later determined the bees were Africanized. The Department sampled over 100 bee colonies in and around Dougherty County and identified two additional managed hives that laboratory tests indicated were Africanized. In 2011, an Africanized colony was found in Bainbridge. However, no additional feral (or wild) colonies or swarms have been detected in the state.