La Pollinosa: Organic Beekeeping, Selection and Sustainability
Innovation, tradition and bee protection in the Tuscan Maremma
Meet us: we are Gianni and Paola. It’s a real pleasure!
La Pollinosa is our organic beekeeping farm founded in 2014 and managed by the two of us, beekeepers with thirty years of experience under our belts, always committed to promoting sustainable professional beekeeping focused on bee welfare and environmental protection.
From the heart of Maremma, we set out every spring towards the most suitable areas of Tuscany for premium beekeeping productions, in continuous search for a balance between methodological rigor and authentic passion, between hard work and enthusiasm, between the frenzy of labor and the lightness of flight.
We have roots and wings
On one hand, we ensure that beekeeping productions and the selection of Ligustica queen bees are carried out according to strict technical criteria, where experience, study, and precision guide every genetic choice aimed at the health and vitality of the colonies.
On the other, we are guided by daily coexistence with the bees, marked by respectful gestures and a deep sense of curiosity, in a territory rich in biodiversity and tradition.
This synergy between method and sentiment, between beekeepers and bees, results in quality productions that tell the story of our land’s uniqueness: honey, pollen, propolis, and wax preserve the scent of a territory where every gesture gives life to an authentic, organic, and healthy product.
The result? A buzz of flavors and energy!
The Beginning of the Dream (2011)
We care about beekeepers' work and hive resilience.
The secret to keeping passion alive, they say, lies in always seeking new stimuli, new projects to dream of and realize together: this is how, after refining the production process of honey first, and then pollen, we challenged ourselves with the breeding and selection of queen bees.
Our selection work began in 2011, with a very clear vision: to improve the more strictly zootechnical aspects of our bees, such as production, docility, and reduced swarming tendency, while simultaneously committing to strengthening colony resilience against major hive pathologies and imbalances caused by climate change—such as hygienic behavior, nest and food store management, and a greater capacity to coexist with the fearsome mite Varroa destructor.
The Choice of "Raw" DNA
We love challenges.
We chose not to rely on genetic material already selected by renowned international breeders, who could have provided us with excellent breeding stock to start our journey.
On the contrary, bucking the trend of many others, we decided to start from the bees already present on our farm: a “raw” genetic material, never previously subjected to targeted selection pressure, except through the maternal line.
We were driven by the desire to preserve the species' variability, avoiding the reduction of genetic diversity by relying on just a few widely reproduced lines.
This choice has given life to an exciting adventure made of continuous research, training, and exchange with colleagues, technicians, and academics, always in discovery of new knowledge and growth opportunities.
Ligustica to the Rescue!
In the beginning, our priorities were mainly focused on zootechnical aspects.
Only later did we question the type of bee we were working with, discovering with satisfaction that most of the lines fully met the standards set for the Ligustica bee: the Italian subspecies of Apis mellifera, an authentic national heritage appreciated worldwide for its fecundity, adaptability, and productivity.
Yet, in its very country of origin, this excellence has risked being overlooked in recent decades.
Rapid environmental changes have highlighted more than one weakness and encouraged beekeepers to look abroad.
The urgency thus emerged to begin a journey with our bees based on precise observations, accurate measurements, and scrupulous control of matings.
The Giannutri Project
Mater certa est…pater numquam.
The urgency emerged for scrupulous control over both matings and the traceability of breeding stock.
Initially, we relied exclusively on instrumental insemination, but starting from 2019, for five consecutive years, we were granted permission to set up a mating apiary on the island of Giannutri, a small pearl of the Tuscan Archipelago, sufficiently isolated from the mainland to prevent the arrival of outside drones.
Here, amidst silence and the sea, the virgin queens were able to mate freely with selected drones, allowing us to introduce into our hives a large number of individuals to be evaluated annually, the best of which are destined to become the new mothers.
The Setback and Resilience
A Setback: The “Giannutri Case”.
In 2025, the National Park management denied us permission to return to the island.
We consider this decision unjust and, supported by scholars and researchers from the most important Italian institutes (CREA-AA, CNR Milan, Unibo, Unimi), we filed an appeal with the TAR of Florence, obtaining a favorable ruling.
We have no intention of giving up: at stake is the need to reaffirm that bees constitute a fundamental value for the conservation of ecosystems.
For the 2025 season, we continued our journey among the rice fields of the Vercelli area, over 500 kilometers away. A demanding logistical challenge, faced with determination, mindful that selecting more resilient bees is a benefit that goes beyond beekeeping.
Selecting bees that are more disease-resistant and better adapted to the environment means, in fact, increasing the presence of genes carrying advantageous traits over a vast area: a benefit that contributes to the health and resilience of the bees themselves.
The Adventure Continues...
While waiting to learn the developments of the case and confident that we will soon be able to return to performing our work at its best on the island, we train the steady hand and sharp eyes essential for high-quality instrumental insemination.
Our Organic Hive
Soil and Biodiversity
We preserve soil fertility, promote its healthiness, and support its fecundity through the work of bees.
Real Sustainability
We reduce the use of plastic and disposable materials, committing ourselves daily to reuse and recycling.
Biological Respect
We take care of the natural rhythms of our hives and their health with treatments based only on natural substances.
We offer nutritious, healthy, and fair products.
