Georgia has a long history of beekeeping. So far, the oldest remains of honey have been found in Georgia. Archaeologists have found honey remains on the inner surface of clay vessels unearthed an ancient tomb, dating back to some 5,500 years ago. In ancient Georgia, honey was packed for people's journeys into the afterlife. And more than one type, too – along for the trip were linden, berry, and a meadow-flower variety.

The gray Caucasus mountain honeybee, one of the world’s three types of honeybees, has a legendary ability to produce large amounts of honey despite cold weather and bad conditions. Georgia is the central homeland for the species. Caucasus bee’s proboscis length is about 7.3 mm, therefore it can reach nectar that its competitors cannot.

The Caucasian (Georgian) honeybee (Apis mellifera caucasia) has a long history of importance to beekeeping worldwide. The bees were first sent to the United States for commercial production in the late 19th century. Caucasian honey bee was a subspecies that came to have enduring interest to U.S. beekeepers. The initial importation details of this subspecies are less certain than for some of the other subspecies, but there were reports of importation in the 1880’s and the subspecies was clearly present by 1890 (Hoffman, in York 1906, Tefft 1890). Direct importations of Caucasian honey bees were made into Colorado in 1903-1905. Frank Benton (1852-1919) greatly supported the import of Georgian honeybees to the United States. Benton visited Georgia in 1905 and met with local entomologists and beekeepers.

Communist revolution in Russia and occupation of Georgia by the Soviet Union in 1921 led to the country isolation. Georgian honeybee was studied and cultivated primarily by Soviet entomologists. The scientists were amazed by its ability to out-produce other bee types, even in non-native habitats, and by its long tongue, or proboscis. A Soviet-era report found that honey production by Georgia’s Caucasus bees exceeded that of the Russian Krasnopoliansk bee by 30 to 40 percent, rendering a sweet total of 25 to 30 kilograms of honey per season. Soviet officials were so concerned about preserving the purity of this Caucasian species that they outlawed any transport of Caucasus bee colonies without special permission.

3 gold medal awards started a new era of popularization of Georgian grey honeybees. First Gold Medal was given to the Georgian honeybee in 1961, at the International Exhibition of Gardening in Erfurt (Germany), next time, the Georgian honeybee was awarded a Gold Medal at the jubilee celebration of the APIMONDIA 20th International Congress of Agriculture in Bucharest (Romania) in 1965, and the third Gold Medal was received at the jubilee celebration of the APIMONDIA 23th International Congress of Agriculture in Moscow in 1971.

According to Sunday Mirror a newspaper published in UK: "GOLDEN BEE the grey mountain bee of the Soviet Union has been judged the best in the world and awarded a gold medal. The grey caucasian bee is distinguished for its industry and it collects honey, even when it is raining. Many foreign beemasters have requested for the Golden bee and as many as 200 000 have been sent to Europe, Asia and America this year." (Sunday Mirror June, 1 1969)

Pure-strain Georgian honeybee was spread in more than 40 countries of the world, including: Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, USA, Austria, Australia, India, Brazil, Japan, England, Bulgaria, Cuba, Finland, Algeria and etc.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia regained its independence in 1991. USSR disintegration process and a series of military conflicts in Georgia hindered the export greatly. From 2000s Georgian entomologists and beekeepers started revival of apiculture in the country. An export of Caucasian queenbees, honey & hive products renewed mainly to Turkey and European Union.

We at Gold Bee are determined to develop and support beekeeping in Georgia and offer to our customers 100% natural raw honey & hive products. We are in position to export queen bees to any interested companies or individuals in the world and support governmental beekeeping programs in EU and USA.

Please feel free to contact us by email to get detailed information about our company and import possibilities.

Some of nucleus colonies of caucasian honeybee @ Goldbee, located in West Georgia, Guria region.