Dark Bee (European Dark Bee)
Lexikon
The dark bee, scientifically Apis mellifera mellifera, is the subspecies of the honey bee originally native to Central, Western, and Northern Europe north of the Alps.
The dark bee, scientifically Apis mellifera mellifera, is the subspecies of the honey bee originally native to Central, Western, and Northern Europe north of the Alps. It is dark in color, broadly built, and has the shortest tongue of all subspecies relative to its body length. According to Ruttner, the values are about 5.9 millimeters in the north and around 6.2 to 6.5 millimeters in the more southerly parts of its range, depending on the area of origin.
In the twentieth century it was almost completely displaced by the Carniolan bee in Germany and Austria. Today it is considered endangered and is looked after in conservation breeding programs, in Germany among others by a federal association of its own, and in Switzerland by protected areas and associations.
Because mating is the decisive point with such a small remaining population, island mating stations, protected mating stations, and instrumental insemination play a major role in conservation breeding.
The dark bee is considered well adapted to harsh climates and economical in its winter consumption. It has a reputation for being less gentle than the Carniolan bee, although gentleness can be changed considerably by breeding, even within a subspecies.