There are many different breeds of honey bees, most not are not commonly kept in captivity, but these three breeds of honey bee are most likely what you will find when purchasing your first hive: the Italian, the Carniolan, and the Cordovan.
Italian – These bees are what you most likely think of when you think ‘honey bee’. They have the yellow and black stripe pattern so commonly recognized. They are good for getting a lot of honey very quickly in the season but they tend to “party” before the winter by making lots of hungry new bees and increase their chances of starving over the winter.
Carniolan – These bees are usually all black, sometimes you will see a few yellow bees when looking through a Carniolan hive but for the most part they are completely black. While they can have a slow start in the beginning of the year as compared to the Italian they don’t make too many hungry new bees before winter and they are less likely to starve. In my observation they seem to be better at repelling Varroa Mites than any other breed of bee but can become quite aggressive.
Cordovan – These bees are a very light yellow color, almost the color of butter sometimes. These are a version of the Italians but without stripes. In my experience they are quite gentle and calm but are easily destroyed by the varroa mites.
I personally like Carniolans above the others and all my hives are Carniolans but really its just personal preference here, all of these breeds have good and bad things about them.
If you have any questions contact me by Judahowen@icoud.com and I will ‘bee’ happy to answer them!