Queen breeding

With 15,000 bee colonies, we are the largest Carnica breeding and testing operation in the world. The high number of test colonies is a decisive advantage in the selection of the best genetics. I am convinced that we have the best genetics on our farm, otherwise we would use different ones.

We try to preserve and further develop the old Austrian lines in Carnica breeding(Wintersbach, Troiseck, Peschetz, Bukovsek, C1, Putz etc.). A special focus in our beekeeping is the selection for varroa tolerance. The method of our performance testing is described in the AGT method manual. Over the years, we have succeeded in selecting breeding mothers that are highly resistant to the Varroa mite, require hardly any treatment and pass this ability on to their daughters. Not all lines are equally advanced in their varroa tolerance, but we are still trying to make the lines resistant to varroa on their own. A very high varroa tolerance has already been achieved, but varroa control is necessary for further breeding in order to recognize and select the better colonies. If the daughters of our queens are not further selected, the genetic Varroa defense is lost through outcrossing.

Another focus of our selection is the vitality of the bee colonies: this is demonstrated by a particularly high honey yield and resistance to diseases. Our breeding colonies are tested for American foulbrood, acute and chronic bee paralysis virus, chalkbrood and other diseases and are only propagated if the results are negative. The breeding colonies are also tested for the typical Carnica breed characteristics. The tendency to swarm has been almost non-existent for years, so swarm control is no longer carried out on our farm. Gentleness is an important characteristic of our bee colonies, as our employees work with the colonies all day and aggressive colonies would be too dangerous. We generally work without protective clothing and with very little smoke.