LIMV breeding station Greifswalder Oie

Greifswalder Oie is a 54-hectare island located in the Baltic Sea, about 10-12 km from the mainland Rügen and Usedom.

The island’s climate is maritime, characterized by the influence of the Baltic Sea and its great distance from the mainland. Due to this location, clouds hardly form, resulting in little precipitation and many hours of sunshine (regularly over 2,000 per year). For this reason, experts consider it, along with Heligoland, the safest island mating site in Germany. It has been used as a mating site for Carnica beekeepers since 1948. The best breeding material, selected by the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Beekeepers’ Association, is used for the establishment.

The queens are guaranteed pure mated and have formed the breeding ground for high-performing Carnica colonies throughout Germany for many years.

Since 2013, it has also been used as a mating site by the Association of Buckfast Beekeepers after the Carnica bee season in June, and by the Federal Association of Dark Bees in Germany from the end of July.