Dark bees
Apis mellifera mellifera (dark bee)
Bees are closely and sensitively connected to the environment and climate. Adapted to the Swiss habitat, the dark bee has developed its own unique genetic potential. The task of preserving this potential for the future lies with protected areas. In these areas, the dark bee should be able to reproduce without significant breeding interventions. The greater the genetic diversity, the greater the chance that the bees will successfully adapt to a changing environment.
breed
Some characteristics of bees simplify beekeeping. Gentleness, quiet perch on the honeycombs, low swarming tendency, balanced honey yield, winter hardiness, and good hygiene are the most important. Active breeders work together in the Dark Bee Switzerland breeding and testing association to select and multiply the best varieties.
Modern tools such as DNA analysis for breed purity and a breeding value estimation system are used. The breeders' work is public and can be viewed at www.beebreed.eu.
Their distribution
After the last Ice Age, the dark bee colonized the entire area north of the Alps, from the Pyrenees to the Urals. During a long history of settlement, it has adapted to very different climates and foraging areas. Over time, locally typical strains emerged, such as the heath bee (A. mm. lehzeni) in northern Germany and the forest bee (A. mm. silvarum) from Poland to the Urals. The alpine bee (A. mm. nigra) originated in Switzerland. Emigrants brought dark bees to all temperate zones of the New World. Thus, the dark bee reached its greatest distribution around 1850.
Their repression
For 150 years, the native dark honey bee A. m. mellifera has been increasingly displaced by A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica from Austria, Slovenia, and Italy. Its range has now been severely reduced and fragmented, so it is considered endangered.
Significant holdings in Switzerland
The dark bees in German-speaking Switzerland are of great importance to the European Mellifera population. Nearly 60,000 bee colonies are of dark ancestry. This population is of great ecological, economic, and cultural importance. Large, contiguous populations exist in the foothills and Alps, especially in the canton of Glarus, which has been a cantonal protected area for the dark bee for 30 years.
Unique features
It is characterized by:
- due to a genetic peculiarity compared to other Western races.
- By their appearance (morphological): Characteristic are their dark armor coloration and narrow felt bands
- It takes a distinct breeding break in winter
- It is winter-hardy, durable and gentle
- It builds up reserves and manages them economically
- She is very adaptable
- It has a strong, diverse pollen collecting instinct
- It flies at low temperatures
On average, it has a yield comparable to that of other bee breeds over the long term. In less productive honey years, its yield is higher thanks to its low consumption of honey.
Text source: Swiss Mellifera Bee Friends Association, www.mellifera.ch