15. What does Carniolan mean and what are the characteristics of this breed of bees?
We got along with the "Sklenar" bee, but also through our membership in the ZAC! breeding association, dedicated to the conservation, development and dissemination of the European honey bee with the scientific name Apis mellifera carnica. Its original name is Krainer bee or Carinthian bee, the common short form for it today is Carniolan.
According to Friedrich Ruttner1, the main characteristics of the Carinthian bee are:
Shape: medium-sized, slim, long body appendages
Overall appearance: gray, gentle, calm
shell color of the abdomen of the workers: dark, sometimes leather-brown corners and 1 ring (no hybrid mark)1 Friedrich Ruttner, Zuchttechnik und Zuchtauslese bei der Biene, page 131ff, 5th edition 1983 Ehrenwirth Verlag ISBN 3-431- 02555-2
In addition, we determine the wing indices (cubital index, dumbbell index, dicoidal displacement) for all breeding mothers. This morphological racial characteristic is calculated from the length ratios of the wing veins. The mean value for the Cubitalindex of Carniolan should not be below 2.7; in the range of (2.3 - 3.2).