Dark bee and moonlight mating

The dark bee is is the only endemic bee from Central Europe. Due to the success of interbreedings like carnica and buckfast, it has been extremely reduced and is even threatened to become extinct.

The "Gesellschaft zum Erhalt seltener und gefährdeter Haustierrassen" - a society in the preservation of rare or endangered domestic animals it is listed as extremely endangered. Sometimes it is also called "Nordbiene" - north bee. Find more information here.
For spreading the dark bee again, one of the methods utilized is the "Koehlersche Verfahren) or monlight mating. In simple words - or as we understood it:
The unmated dark bee queen is closed in her hive until dusk. Since she has only very little time for her mating flight, she will mate with the dark drones near her site.

Here is a picture of the dark bee queen:



 For more information also visit Gemeinschaft zum Erhalt der dunklen Biene e.V.