Honey bees

We sell selected and mated Carnolian honey bees, also known as the Carnolians (lat. Apis mellifera carnica).

Since 2012, family farm Pratnemer is officially recognised as one of the top five queen honey bee producers in Croatia. This recognition should be taken into consideration, since a good queen honey bee is hard to find.

We’re only selecting honey queen bees that are resistant to a mean intestinal disease (lat. noseme ceranae) so that our mated queen bees are truly the best queen bees in Croatia.

About the Carnolian honey bee

Apis mellifera carnica, also known as the Carnolian honey bee or Carniolans, “Carnies” for short, is almost as big in size as the Italian honey bee and the Western European black bee (Apis mellifera mellifera). Despite the similarity in size of these bees, the Carnolians’ tongue is somewhat longer, and with its 6.5 to 6.7 mm long tongue and a thinner abdomen, these bees can reach even the more demanding crops.

In the beekeeping world, the Carnolians is a respected species, due to its genetically inherited resistance to several bee diseases and pests. It is also easy to work with a Carnolian bee colony because this species is not too aggressive. The Carnolian bees possess a natural ability to adapt their colony size according to the availability of nectar and pollen in the surrounding nature.

The Carnolian honey bee is a widely spread species of bee in Europe mostly because of its positive characteristics. Beekeepers in Slovenia, south Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Serbia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria tend to keep exactly this specie of bee colonies.

The Apis mellifera mellifera bee is actually a subspecies of the Western dark honey bee, naturalized and adapted on the territory of today’s Slovenia (Kočevje) in the 18. ct.

The Apis mellifera carnica or the Carnolian honey bee has a well-developed and resilient chest, ranging from light brown to darker shades of brown. Honeybees are medium sized, have long legs, and a slightly grey abdomen while the drone bees have dark grey and brown hair on a dark abdomen that should never be yellow not yellowish.

Advantages of the Carnolian honey bee:

  • It belongs to a kind and a non-aggressive type
  • It can be kept even in the inhabited areas
  • It has a better sense of orientation in comparison to the Italian honeybee
  • Carnolian bees are less prone to crashing into the neighbouring hives in comparison to other honeybees
  • In comparison to the Italian honeybee, Carnolian bees are less prone to rob and attack other hives
  • In comparison to other types, a Carnolian colony survives winters even with a smaller bee count
  • Quick and effective adaptation to its surroundings
  • Carnolian colonies are adapted to areas with longer winters
  • Extremely quick spring development
  • Carnolian type of bees have a quick instinctive rhythm to produce queen bees
  • Carnolians also possess a good instinct to lessen the colony size when natural nutrients are scarce
  • Small production and consumption of propolis
  • A solid genetical resistance to colony diseases
  • High production of honey
  • Suitable for areas with heavy spring rains
  • Honeybees live up to 12% longer in comparison to other species

A fertilized honey bee costs 20 EUR

Order the queen bees