Metelko Organic Apiary
Metelko Organic Apiary is a family-run organic beekeeping farm in Slovenia, dedicated to breeding high-quality Carniolan queens (Apis mellifera carnica) and producing organic bee products. Our work combines many years of practical beekeeping experience with careful selection, respect for the natural characteristics of the Carniolan bee, and a strong commitment to sustainable beekeeping.
Today, we manage around 400 bee colonies and focus particularly on queen breeding and selection under real production conditions. This allows us to evaluate our breeding stock not only for individual traits, but for the qualities that matter in everyday beekeeping: calm temperament, healthy and balanced colony development, good overwintering and reliable production.
Our Beginnings
Our beekeeping story began in 2008, driven by curiosity and a growing fascination with honey bees. What started on a small scale gradually developed into a professional family apiary.
From the beginning, our goal was not simply to increase the number of colonies, but to understand them better and continuously improve the way we work with bees. In 2012, we began our transition towards organic beekeeping, and in 2014 the apiary became certified organic.
Over the years, queen breeding and selection became an increasingly important part of our work and are now at the heart of Metelko Organic Apiary.
What has remained unchanged since the beginning is our approach: observing colonies under real production conditions, learning from them over many seasons, and selecting bees that perform reliably in everyday beekeeping.
Our Vision
Our vision is to preserve the natural qualities and genetic integrity of the Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) while selecting for traits that are important to modern beekeeping.
We believe that successful queen breeding should combine careful selection with respect for the natural biology of the honey bee. Our aim is to breed healthy, calm and productive colonies that are well adapted to their environment and perform reliably under practical beekeeping conditions.
Organic Queen Breeding Since 2019
In 2019, we began offering our organically reared Carniolan queens to beekeepers beyond Slovenia, marking an important milestone in the development of our queen breeding programme.
Since then, queen breeding has grown from one part of our beekeeping operation into one of its central activities, while our commitment to organic production and the preservation of Apis mellifera carnica has remained unchanged.
Learn more about our selection methods, breeding goals and practical evaluation of colonies in our Our Breeding Programme.
History and achievements
2009 – beekeeping started and thus included in the breeding program
2013 – a start of royal jelly production
2013 – inclusion in organic beekeeping
2014 – breeding the first queen bees for our own needs and first selection
2014 – start of close cooperation with Hrastelj Apiaries
2015 – more intensive breeding of queen bees for the needs of other beekeepers
2017-2018 – participation in the SMARTBEES project
2021 – 1st place in the national assessment of carnica queen bees for calmness
2021 – 1st place in the national assessment of carnica queen bees for honey yield
Miha Metelko
2012 – Passed national professional qualification as a beekeeper
2015 – graduated from the Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana in the field of beekeeping with prof. dr. Janko Božič
2016 – 2020 President of the Aproved Breeding Organization – PRO
2017 – further education with dr. Liebig and dr. Aumaier
2017 – 2021 member of Expert committee for beekeeping at KGZS
2017 – 2018 beekeeping mentor at Boštanj Primary School
2019 – education on artificial insemination of queen bees at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia
2021 – president of Expert committee for beekeeping at KGZS
2021 – member Council for beekeeping at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food
Sara Metelko 
2014 – graduated from the Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana in the field of beekeeping with prof. dr. Janko Božič