Lesson 15: Honey Bee Races and Stocks
Italians, Carniolans, Russians and more: what the names mean, and which to start with
When you order bees, you'll be asked to choose a race or stock. The names can be confusing, but the choice matters. It affects how gentle your bees are, how much they swarm, how well they winter, and how well they handle mites.
Where our honey bees came from
Honey bees are Old World insects. They weren't native to the Americas; European settlers brought them here. Over thousands of years honey bees in different parts of Europe, Africa and Asia adapted to their own climates, becoming distinct races (subspecies), each with its own habits. A stock is a line of bees bred for particular traits, which may be a pure race or a mix.
The common choices
Italian (Apis mellifera ligustica), from Italy - By far the most popular honey bee in North America. - Yellowish, relatively gentle, builds up quickly in spring, lots of brood and honey. - Downsides: quick to rob weaker neighboring colonies, and can use up winter stores quickly.
Carniolan (A. m. carnica), from the Alps of east-central Europe and the Danube valley - Gray-brown, extremely gentle. - Thrifty with winter food and winters well in small clusters; builds up fast in spring. - Downsides: swarms often, especially early in the season, and builds new comb slowly.
Caucasian (A. m. caucasica), from the Caucasus mountains - Lead-gray, very gentle, swarms seldom. - Downsides: winters poorly (especially in cold climates), builds up slowly, prone to Nosema, and gums the hive up with lots of propolis.
German black bee (A. m. mellifera), from northern Europe - The first honey bee brought to the Americas. Dark, winters well. - Downsides: nervous and defensive, slow spring build-up, low disease tolerance. Rarely sold today.
Buckfast: a mixed-origin stock bred for balanced traits: fairly gentle, good disease tolerance, good honey production.
Russian: a stock from the Primorsky region of far-eastern Russia, where honey bees have lived with varroa mites for a long time. Its big selling point is high tolerance of varroa mites.
VSH ("Varroa Sensitive Hygiene"): not a race but a trait bred into stocks. Worker bees with this trait find brood cells where varroa mites are breeding and remove the infested pupae, which slows mite growth. It was developed from work by USDA researchers. Lessons 54 and 83 cover mites and breeding for resistance.
Africanized honey bees (A. m. scutellata and its hybrids) are not a stock anyone should choose. They are extremely defensive. Lesson 16 covers them.
Comparing them
| Stock | Gentleness | Swarming | Winter | Spring build-up | Mites / disease | Honey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italian | Average (gentle) | Average | Average; eats stores fast | Average–fast | Average | High |
| Carniolan | High (very gentle) | High, early | Good, thrifty | Rapid | Average–good | High |
| Caucasian | High (very gentle) | Low | Poor in cold climates | Slow | Average | Average |
| Buckfast | Fairly gentle | Average | Average–good | Average | Good disease tolerance | Average–high |
| Russian | Average | Average | Good | Average | High varroa tolerance | Average |
| German | Defensive | Average–high | Good | Slow | Low disease tolerance | Low–average |
Ratings are general tendencies. Individual colonies vary, and queens mate with local drones, so a colony's daughters can differ from their mother's stock.
Which should a beginner choose?
There's no single right answer, and experienced beekeepers disagree. Some guidance from extension programs:
- Start with a stock that's moderate in most traits. Alabama Extension suggests Italians as a good beginner's bee: relatively gentle, winter well, build up early for the main flow.
- Gentleness matters most for a beginner. Gentle, commercially raised queens greatly reduce stings (lesson 2).
- Match the stock to your goals and climate. Long, cold winters favor thrifty wintering stocks like Carniolans; if mites have been a problem, Russian or VSH stocks are worth considering.
- Buy from a reputable supplier (lesson 25).
What to remember
- Honey bees came to the Americas with European settlers; races are adapted to different climates.
- Italians: popular, gentle, productive, but rob and eat stores quickly.
- Carniolans: very gentle, thrifty in winter, fast spring build-up, but swarm readily.
- Russian and VSH stocks are chosen mainly for mite resistance.
- For a beginner: gentle, moderate, from a reputable supplier.
Quick check
- Which stock is known mainly for tolerating varroa mites?
- What's the main drawback of Carniolans?
- What does VSH stand for, and what do VSH bees do?
Show answers
1. Russian (VSH stocks too). 2. They swarm frequently. 3. Varroa Sensitive Hygiene; workers find brood cells where mites are reproducing and remove them.
Adapted from: UGA Bee Program, Getting Started: Races of Honey Bees; UF/IFAS Extension, Welcome to the Apiary! (4H446), Table 6 Honey Bee Stocks and Their Characteristics; Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Establishing a Honey Bee Colony (Shabel & Rowe, 2024); Penn State Extension, Varroa Mite Resistance: Testing for Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (updated 2025); Delaplane, K. S., Honey Bees and Beekeeping (UGA Extension Bulletin 1045, rev. 2017).
Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.