TENUTA RITIRO
QUEEN BEE BREEDING & GENETICS
At the heart of European beekeeping
Tenuta Ritiro was born from a genuine passion for bees and everything they stand for: biodiversity, natural balance, resilience.
OUR STORY
European leader in Buckfast queen bee production
The company was founded in 2006 by Giacomo Acerbi, who turned a personal passion into an enterprise dedicated to the selection and breeding of high-quality Buckfast queen bees.
From the start the goal has been clear: to help build a stronger, more sustainable professional beekeeping sector, capable of meeting modern challenges, from varroa pressure to environmental change.
Today Tenuta Ritiro is recognised as the European leader in Buckfast queen bee production, the result of years of research, genetic selection and collaboration with some of the most prominent names in apiary breeding.
3,000 hives across Italy
Starting from a base of more than 3,000 hives spread across central and northern Italy, the queen bees raised at Tenuta Ritiro have proven their ability to adapt to very different climates.
From Finland to Cyprus, from Canada to Lebanon, their presence tells a story of versatility, resilience and reliability spanning more than 10,000 kilometres.
This international network of partnerships and trials makes it possible to continuously assess the genetic performance of our bees and to improve the quality of the selected material year after year.
OUR MISSION
Sharing genetics and expertise
Our goal is not only to select queen bees.
We want to make genetics an accessible tool for every beekeeper, helping them understand and manage the genetic heritage of their colonies.
Through consulting, training and shared selection programmes we support beekeepers in building apiaries that are more resilient and sustainable over time.
Our numbers
continents where our bees are present
km of genetic reach
bees sold worldwide
hives dedicated to selection
Our team
Behind Tenuta Ritiro is a close-knit team of beekeepers and professionals from different parts of the world, united by a shared vision: to advance beekeeping through study, fieldwork and continuous innovation.
Giacomo Acerbi
Owner and director
Sandra Cernea
Sales and administration manager
Debora Rizzetto
Queen cells & queen bees manager
Adriana Cirstea
Role
Michele Bruni
Role
SELECTION PLATFORM
BeeGeneSys
Tenuta Il Ritiro has developed BeeGeneSys, a method and system for the genetic selection of bees based on the analysis of hereditary traits and the use of measurable data, with the aim of improving the performance, resilience and stability of colonies in the apiary over time.
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