Author Topic: Italian or Carniolan ? (Read 3356 times)

gottabee · « **on:** November 25, 2005, 10:02:05 am »

I am a recent beekeeper. I have five hives, 4 Italian and 1 ferel. I have had good luck but am interested in results Carniolan vs Italian. If you have kept both I would be interested in your comparisions. Can you give me a few pointers?

Also would you keep both Italians and Carniolans in the same yard?

Michael Bush · « **Reply #1 on:** November 25, 2005, 12:30:39 pm »

Italians are, as Marion Ellis called them one day, "brood rearing fools". Carniolans are more frugal. If the weather is decent the Italians are rearing brood. The Italians overwinter with a bigger cluster than the Carniolans and eat more stores in dearths because they don't have sense to cut back. The Carnis fly in colder weather, stop rearing brood in a dearth and cut back to a small cluster in the winter and need a lot less stores.

I like them both, but I prefer the Carniolans for my climate. I'd say in the deep south the Italians would probably do better.

Horns Pure Honey · « **Reply #2 on:** November 25, 2005, 03:31:10 pm »

In Illinois Italians seem to work for me the best. :)

Finsky · « **Reply #3 on:** November 26, 2005, 02:23:32 pm »

I kept carniolas 10 years but some year they were awfull to swarm,. I do not like them any more. Italian are god. Italians are many traces, bad ones and good ones. When I took italians again, my average yield jumped 80%.