The Nordic brown bee – the old native bee of the Nordic countries

The Nordic brown bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) was earlier the most widespread bee in the world. It was present over large areas from the Alps to the Nordic countries and from the British Isles to Russia. It has since colonised other continents, reaching even Oceania the mid 20th century. Following expansion of its range, it has developed into a number of local, or at least geographically separate, lines.

Large scale importations of other types of bee represented a threat to the Nordic bee and organised breeding efforts more or less stopped. Measures such as establishing mating stations have been taken more recently, and include the Læsø project (an island in Kattegatt between Sweden and Denmark). Mating stations operate in Sweden, and Norway uses protected areas from which other types of bee are excluded.

Conservation measures
The Nordic bee has a threatened breed status and is included or at least mentioned in the Nordic Countries’ national reports to FAO (State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture). There are also some crossborder Nordic activities, including meetings and cooperation in the Læsø project.

There are populations of the brown bee in all Nordic countries except Iceland. The Norwegian brown bee population is regarded as the largest in the Nordic countries and comprises 1500 colonies. In the Baltic countries there is a small brown bee population in Lithuania.

Organization
In those Nordic countries with brown bee populations there is an association or a sector in the national bee keepers' associations devoted to the Nordic brown bee. Sweden hosts the association ‘NordBi’, which has more than 200 members, edits a journal and has a website.

Varroa destructor
Varroa is a serious problem for beekeepers. It is a parasitic mite that sucks the bees' blood and affected bee colonies die within some years.

There is a discussion over whether to use chemical control or select for resistance to Varroa to manage this pest. The Nordic bee is regarded by some to possess better resistance than other bee breeds.