The honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) populates Europe and western Asia in several subspecies. During the last ice age, honey bees survived in ice age refuges in the western and eastern Mediterranean region. Re-immigration after the end of the ice age took place north of the Alps from southwestern Europe. Central and northern Europe and southern Scandinavia were reached via Spain and France.
The subspecies that populated this huge area was Apis mellifera mellifera, the dark bee, which was the only honey bee form north of the Alps until the beginning of the 20th century. From the southeast, the Carniolan bee Apis mellifera carnica penetrated as far as the main Alpine ridge, while from the south, the Italian bee Apis mellifera ligustica only reached the southern edge of the Alps.
In Austria, the Carniolan bee only occurred naturally in Carinthia, Styria and on the eastern edge of the Alps. However, due to its supposedly more peaceful behavior and higher honey yields, it became a "fashion animal" among beekeepers and was introduced throughout Central Europe in the first half of the 20th century.
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The native dark bee was pushed to the brink of extinction. There are only remaining populations in Scandinavia, Switzerland, Salzburg and Tyrol. The dark bee is adapted to cool climates with high rainfall. This means it can make excellent use of the summer forest and heath crops, but has problems with the increasingly faster mowing rhythm of the meadows, which only bloom for a short time in spring. The colony develops more slowly in spring than that of the Carniolan bee.
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Honey bees of various subspecies have been used for thousands of years. The theft of honey from wild beehives was followed by forest beekeeping with hollowed-out tree trunks as bee homes. The straw baskets used on them were later replaced by mobile frames, which made it possible to harvest honey without destroying a colony.
But as an economic factor, beekeeping is not immune to serious problems: the introduction of the Varroa mite led to the biggest crisis in beekeeping for centuries. This mite occurs on the sister species of our honey bee, the Eastern honey bee, Apis cerana, without causing much damage. However, the consequences of its appearance are fatal for the Western honey bee, which is not adapted to it. Only with sophisticated methods is it now possible to enable Apis mellifera to survive, harvest honey and ensure pollination.