*** PRE-ORDER ***
📆 AVAILABLE in April
Deposit ONLY 10%
15+ for £35 each
45+ for £30 each
100+ for £25
Italian (Ligustica) Queen & Bee Characteristics
- Early Brood Production – Queens start laying as soon as pollen enters the hive, often when maple trees bloom.
- Strong Honey Producers – Considered the standard for honey production.
- Large Colonies – Rapid population growth, ideal for strong nectar flows.
- Gentle & Easy to Handle – One of the most beekeeper-friendly bee breeds.
- Low Swarming Tendency – Though they may swarm in their second year, overall swarming is moderate.
- Fast Comb Builders – Excellent at drawing out wax.
- Minimal Propolis Use – Makes hive maintenance easier.
- More Prone to Drifting & Robbing – Can enter neighboring hives, increasing disease transmission risks.
- Sensitive to Cool, Overcast Weather – Less active in poor weather, which can reduce honey yields.
- Winter Challenges – Looser clusters require more food to maintain warmth, making them less suited for harsh winters.
A productive, gentle, and efficient bee, perfect for warm climates and high honey yields!
Italian Queen Bee
£25 each for Queen Bee orders over 100
The Italian honey bee (Apis mellifera ligustica) originates from continental Italy, south of the Alps and north of Sicily. It likely survived the last Ice Age in Italy and is genetically distinct from Iberian and Sicilian honey bees. Often called the Ligurian bee, it is the most widely distributed honey bee subspecies, thriving in subtropical to cool temperate climates but struggling in humid tropical regions.
Adapted to the warmer Mediterranean climate, Italian bees are less suited to harsh winters and cool, wet springs. They form looser winter clusters, leading to higher food consumption due to increased heat loss. Their tendency to raise brood late into autumn further increases food needs.
Italian bees were first introduced to Britain in 1854 by Thomas White Woodbury, who considered them vastly superior to the native English Black bee.
