Caucasian honey bee

The Caucasian honey bee (Apis mellifera caucasia) is a subspecies of the western honey bee.

Origin

The Caucasian honey bee originates from the high valleys of the Central Caucasus. Georgia is the “central homeland” for the subspecies, although the bees also can be found in eastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Anatomy and appearance

Shape and size: similar to A. m. carnica

Chitin color: dark with brown spots at times

Hair color: lead-grey

Tongue length: up to 7.3 mm

Behavior

Beneficial for beekeeping

Gentle and calm on the comb

Longest proboscis, so it can extract nectar from the deepest nectar tissues, where no other honey bees can

Ardent brood production – raising strong colonies

Colonies reach full strength in mid-summer, which is good for areas where the highest nectar flow is in mid-summer

Very great user of propolis

Not beneficial for beekeeping

Colonies do not reach full strength until mid-summer, which is an undesirable trait for areas with the highest nectar flow in the spring.

The great use of propolis may be seen as undesirable as it makes hive management more difficult. Frames and hive boxes are glued together more substantially.

Overwintering in northern climates is not good due to susceptibility to nosema.

Inclined to drifting and robbing

In Turkey, beekeepers purposefully bring hives of Apis mellifera caucasia to areas of dense Rhododendron ponticum blooms to purposefully sequester grayanotoxin laden honey called "mad honey." This coveted novelty honey is referred to as "deli bal" and is neurotoxic. These bees are also less susceptible than A. m.