The Italian Bee
Brought to the U.S. in 1859 Italian Bees quickly became a favorite bee stock in this country and remain so to this day. An Italian hive will build its population early in the spring and maintain strong numbers throughout the summer, but their hive will dwindle in the winter. Don’t let this scare you. What it means is that your bees will build a strong store of honey and hive population earlier in the year and maintain it through the summer, therefore requiring less food to keep them alive during winter.
With their early build up, Italians can seem aggressive during the spring but tend to calm down later in the year—they’re known as one of the gentler bee species. They are less defensive and less prone to disease than their German counterparts, and they are excellent honey producers.
Italian Bees are very lightly colored, ranging from a light tan to an almost lemon yellow—a trait that is sought after by many beekeepers for its aesthetic appeal.
Italian Bee Stats
- Spring Build up - Normal
- Swarming Tendency - Normal
- Honey production - Normal
- Gentleness - Assertive in Spring, then Mild
- Mites Resilience - Normal
- Ability to Winter in Cold Temps - Maintain smaller colonies going into winter, meaning less food consumption
- Good option for a first-time beekeeper - Yes!
Also worthy of note, the Italian Bee line we carry is sourced from Harvest Lane Honey who has been influenced over the years by queens purchased from breeders Art Banta, Homer Park, Lloyd Penner, and John Tollett. The best traits have been identified and bred into the Harvest Lane Queens. They choose their breeder queens based on the hive’s performance in honey production, gentleness, brood rearing viability, and overall ability to overwinter healthy and heavy. Harvest Lane takes special care of their Italians—they are the best of the best.
A potential drawback to the Italian honeybee family—they wander. These bees have poor orientation, meaning they will drift to other colonies to steal honey. This wandering, honey-stealing tendency can spread disease between hives.
The Carniolan Bee
Carniolans from middle Europe have been a favored bee stock in the U.S. for several reasons—they are known for their hardiness in the colder climates, explosive spring build up, and above-average honey production. Generally gentle towards beekeepers—they can be worked with little smoke and protective clothing. They show good resistance to tracheal mites and are great wax comb builders.
Carniolans have explosive spring build up and carry a large, active population through the season. This leaves them prone to swarming. Carniolans have a tendency to stay close to the hive—which means they are much less prone to robbing other colonies of honey, lowering disease transmission among colonies.
Carniolan Bees are generally a dusky brown/grey color with stripes of a lighter brown. They have very long tongues, between 6.5 to 6.7 mm—making them well adapted for clover.
Carniolan Bee Stats
- Spring Build up - Very Quick
- Swarming Tendency - Above Normal
- Honey production - Above Normal
- Gentleness - Easy Going
- Mites Resilience - Above Normal
- Ability to Winter in Cold Temps - Maintain larger colonies going into winter, meaning food will need to be checked and perhaps provided in colder months
- Good option for a first-time beekeeper - Yes!
Also worthy of note, our Carniolan Bees are sourced from Harvest Lane Honey. Their breeders are mated in an isolated area and observed for a year prior to use in our breeding program.
A potential drawback, because of rapid buildup Carniolan Bees tend to have an above average tendency to swarm—in an effort to relieve overcrowding. What does this mean for the beekeeper? Well, it may leave a poor honey crop for harvest. Vigilance with Carniolan Bees can prevent swarms, by providing them with more food throughout the cooler months, it will aid them in wintering with a large population.
Important Bee Order Details and Dates
- Bees must be picked up from your designated local C-A-L Ranch Store within 24-hours of their arrival. Live bees are sensitive to the environment and best cared for when protected from direct wind, sunlight, heat, or extreme cold while in their shipment packaging.
- Bees are estimated to arrive:
- Early-Mid April for Southern Utah, Arizona, and Nevada stores.
- Late April/Early May for Northern Utah, and Idaho stores.
- Please note, arrival dates could vary up to 2 weeks based on weather.
- You will be notified by email with specific delivery dates.
- Bees that are not picked up on your specific delivery date, are subject to resale with NO refund.
- Upon arrival and pick-up:
- It is the customer's responsibility to inspect the bees, queen, packaging, and boxes before they leave the store.
- The customer assumes full responsibility over bees, queen, packaging, and boxes.
- Bees package includes a cage, bee feed, queen, and 3 pounds of bees (approximately 10,000–12,000 bees). Please be aware, due to the natural life cycle of bees there will be some death 1%-5% is expected.
- In the unlikely event that the queen bee is deceased upon arrival/pick-up, please contact customer.service@countrysupplier.com within 24-hours of pick-up. Proof of the deceased queen bee must be provided for a replacement queen bee to be shipped. After 24-hours, C-A-L Ranch Stores is not responsible for deceased queen bee.
- We offer no guarantee—implied, oral, or written for any purchased bees. These are live bees, after they leave our care, we have no control over customer actions regarding treatment and care.
- If you need to cancel, please email customer.service@countrysupplier.com. A full refund will be available until March 31, 2025. After this date, orders will be non-refundable.
- Bees that are not picked up are subject to resale with NO refund.
- Once shipped, all payments are NON-REFUNDABLE. Live bees ship next day air for delivery, there is no way to halt or issue refunds.
- If you find yourself with questions, one of the best resources available is to connect with your state's Beekeepers Association. Find yours, reach out, and join your beekeeping community.