Caucasian honey bee

Updated on Oct 10, 2024

Edit

Comment

Kingdom Animalia Order Hymenoptera Family Apidae Scientific name Apis mellifera caucasia Rank Subspecies		Phylum Arthropoda Suborder Apocrita Subfamily Apinae Higher classification Western honey bee

Similar Honey bee, Bee, Western honey bee, Italian bee, Carniolan honey bee

Kafkas ar s serka caucasian honey bee

The Caucasian honey bee (Apis mellifera caucasia, commonly misspelled caucasica) is a subspecies of the Western honey bee.

Origin

The Caucasian honey bee originates from the high valleys of the Central Caucasus. Georgia is the “central homeland” for the subspecies, although the bees also can be found in eastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Anatomy and Appearance

Caucasian honey bee httpswadesbeesfileswordpresscom201010cauc

Shape and Size: similar to A. m. carnica

Chitin Color: dark with brown spots at times

Hair Color: lead-grey

Tongue Length: up to 7.2 mm

beneficial for beekeeping

Caucasian honey bee Kafkas Ars SERKA Caucasian Honey Bee YouTube

gentle and calm on the comb

ardent brood production - raising strong colonies

colonies reach full strength in mid-summer, which is good for areas where the highest nectar flow is in mid-summer

very great user of propolis

in its native area a better honey producer than the European dark bee

not beneficial for beekeeping

colonies do not reach full strength until mid-summer, which is an undesirable trait for areas with the highest nectar flow in the spring.

the great use of propolis may be seen as undesirable as it makes hive management more difficult. Frames and hive boxes are glued together more substantially.

over wintering in northern climates not good due to susceptibility to nosema

inclined to drifting and robbing

References

Caucasian honey bee Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA