The Italianhoney bee is thought to originate from the continental part of Italy, south of the Alps, and north of Sicily. The subspecies may have survived the last Ice Age in Italy. It is genetically a different subspecies than that from the Iberian peninsula and from Sicily. It is the most widely distributed of all honey bees, and has proven adaptable to most climates from subtropical to cool temperate, but it is less successful in humid tropical regions. Italian bees that originate from the Ligurian alps in northern Italy are often referred to as the Ligurian bee. Italian bees, having been conditioned to the warmer climate of the central Mediterranean, are less able to cope with the "hard" winters and cool, wet springs of more northern latitudes. They do not form such tight winter clusters. More food has to be consumed to compensate for the greater heat loss from the loose cluster. The tendency to raise broods late in autumn also increases food consumption. The noted beekeeper, Thomas White Woodbury, first introduced the Italian bee to Britain in 1859 and regarded it as vastly superior to the Old British Black bee.
Anatomy
Color: Abdomen has brown and yellow bands. Among different strains of Italian bees, there are three different colors: Leather; bright yellow ; and very pale yellow.
Size: Their bodies are smaller and their overhairs are shorter than those of the darker honeybee races.
Tongue length: 6.3 to 6.6 mm
Mean cubital index: 2.2 to 2.5
Characteristics
, a bee breeder and developer of the Buckfast bee, characterized the Italian bee in his book Breeding the Honeybee: While the Italian bee has many strong points, among the A.m. ligustica it has a large number of weak points:
Strengths
shows strong disposition to breeding and very prolific
for areas with continuous nectar flow and favorable weather throughout the summer
industry
gentleness
a willingness to enter supers
tendency to collect flower honey rather than honey dew
Weaknesses
lacks vitality
inclined to excessive brood rearing
susceptibility to disease
high consumption of stores
more prone to drifting and robbing than the other principal races of Europe.
the strong brood rearing disposition often results in large food consumption in late winter or early spring that causes spring dwindling and hence slow or tardy spring development
brood rearing starts late and lasts long into late summer or autumn, irrespective of nectar flow
tends to forage over shorter distances than either carnica or mellifera, and may therefore be less effective in poorer nectar flows
for cool maritime regions
for areas with strong spring flow
for areas with periods of dearth of nectar in the summer
Foraging behavior
A. m. ligustica are more concerned with nectar processing behaviors, honey storage, and adult maintenance over brood expansion when compared to the African honey bee, A. m. scutellata.
Selective breeding
Breeders of Italian bees, as well as other honey bee races, look for certain beneficial characteristics. Depending on the breeding goal, one or more of the following characteristics may be emphasized:
Gentleness or excitability
Resistance to various diseases including tracheal mite and Varroa mite
Early spring buildup in population
Wintering ability
Tendency to limited swarming
Ability to ripen honey rapidly
Honeycomb cappings are white
Minimal use of propolis
Availability and queen cost
Color
Source: George Imrie's pink pages
Worldwide distribution
1853 introduced to Germany
1854 introduced into the Poland by Dr. Jan Dzierżon
1862 introduced to Australia, on 9 December into Victoria aboard the steam ship Alhambra There is strong evidence this introduction failed as the emerging Italian virgin queens hybridised with the English 'black' bee. Wilhelm Abram brought several queens from Italy to Sydney in December 1880 but it's probable they reached New South Wales through other hands earlier on.
1884 introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia, sourced from Brisbane where they were previously imported in 1880 from Italy by Chas. Fullwood. Jas. Carroll received a hive of Italian bees in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1877 when Angus Mackay accompanied a hive aboard the City of New York, packaged by Harbison in California. After a week's stopover in Sydney, the bees arrived in Brisbane. Honey from Kangaroo Island is marketed as being from the only pure Ligurian bees in the world.
