Italian Bee (Apis mellifera ligustica)

What Do They Look Like

They are lighter in color than many other bees, with the base color varying from ‘Leather’ to pale yellow (‘Cordovan’) and a vibrant dark yellow (‘Golden’). The belly is marked with yellow and brown stripes. The queen bees have a slightly darker coloration.

Relatively small in size, the overhairs of the Italian honeybees are shorter than that of darker bee types. Their tongue is 6.3-6.6 mm long, while the mean cubital index ranges between 2.2 and 2.5.

Distribution: Originating from Continental Italy, they have been introduced

throughout the world, including Germany, the US, UK, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand

Habitat: Domesticated; can adapt to various habitats

Do They Bite/Sting: Yes; though they are less aggressive than most other bees, they will sting if threatened

Lifespan: Queen bees – several years; workers – around 6 weeks; drones – about 8 weeks

Predators: Wasps, hornets, parasitic mites, animals like skunks and bears.

Behavior and Characteristics

Temperament

The primary reason for their popularity among beekeepers is their gentle and docile temperament, making them easy to handle and work with. However, this makes them susceptible to hive beetles and hornets.

Diet and Nectar-gathering

Italian bees are active foragers, with flower nectar and pollen comprising their diet. They are good at adapting to different climates.

These bees are more active during warmer days and prefer not to gather nectar during cool, overcast days. As a result, they produce less amount of honey in habitats with colder springs. They are known to keep their hives clean by themselves, which is another reason for their popularity as domestic bees.

Wintering

These bees must keep large colonies in winter to produce enough hive warmth to survive the cold. As a result, they will feed through more stored honey and pollen during this period.

Swarming

They swarm under certain conditions and only into the second year in a hive – usually towards the end of spring and summer.

Their poor sense of direction may often make them drift to another colony and ‘rob’ them (a beekeeping term meaning bees stealing honey from other hives).

Their swarming habit is one of the characteristic features that distinguish them from another common species, the Carnelian bees, which swarm during their first year in a hive.