HISTORY
Three Generations of Queen Breeders
From humble beginnings in 1931 to an internationally recognised breeding programme — the story of a Slovenian family’s extraordinary dedication to the Carniolan honey bee.
1931 - THE BEGINNING
Alojz Bukovšek Sr. Begins Beekeeping
In 1931, then 15-year-old Alojz Bukovšek Sr. began with bee-keeping. He built a bee-house for 27 beehives which is still used today.
1934 - EXPANSION
Queen Breeding Begins
In 1934, he additionally increased the bee-house by another 45 beehives. That year he also built the first 40 mating hives and began breeding queens in the spring for sale. Later he increased breeding and sold queens to Egypt through Jan Strgar together with bee colonies. The last queens departed each year in September. Sales to Egypt and other English colonies went well until the beginning of World War 2.
PRE-WAR - GLOBAL REACH
Before World War 2, our queens had been reaching British colonies through Mr. Strgar. The next milestone was selling queens to China and Argentina. In all periods, we have been selling queens to European countries, which is still our largest market.
“We are especially proud of queens bought from us by brother Adam Kehrle. He needed them to breed the buckfast bee.”
1967 - INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Tested Against European Standards
In 1967, queens of the carniolan honey bee were tested in Germany and Austria. Samples from Austria, several other countries and Bukovšek’s samples from Slovenia were tested. Both testings showed that Bukovšek’s and Austrian queens were comparable, while other breeds were significantly weaker.
1967 - EXPERT RECOGNITION
Training Institutes Across Germany
Because of good results, Alojz Bukovšek Jr. was invited to provide training to institutes of apiculture in Neustadt and in Mayen, Germany.
TODAY - THIRD GENERATION
Janko and Stefan Continue the Legacy
Janko and Stefan Bukovšek, the third generation of bee-keepers, continue to breed queens today.
All our queens are randomly mated and marked.