Bees Pollinating Team EUSOCIAL ANIMALS

The western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide.[3][4] The genus name Apis is Latin for 'bee', and mellifera is the Latin for 'honey-bearing' or 'honey-carrying', referring to the species' production of honey.[5]

Western honey bee
Temporal range: Oligocene–Recent
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Conservation status

Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)[1][2]
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Apidae
Genus:
Apis
Species:
A. mellifera
Binomial name
Apis mellifera
Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies[3]
31 currently recognized, see list

Synonyms
Apis mellifica Linnaeus, 1761
Apis gregaria Geoffroy, 1762
Apis cerifera Scopoli, 1770
Apis daurica Fischer von Waldheim, 1843
Apis mellifica germanica Pollmann, 1879
Apis mellifica nigrita Lucas, 1882
Apis mellifica mellifica lehzeni Buttel-Reepen, 1906 (Unav.)
Apis mellifica mellifica silvarum Goetze, 1964 (Unav.)
Like all honey bee species, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers", and a small proportion of fertile males or "drones". Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals, through both pheromones and the dance language.

The western honey bee was one of the first domesticated insects, and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination activities. With human assistance, the western honey bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica. Western honey bees are threatened by pests and diseases, especially the Varroa mite and colony collapse disorder. There are indications that the species is rare, if not extinct in the wild in Europe and as of 2014, the western honey bee was assessed as "Data Deficient" on the IUCN Red List. Numerous studies indicate that the species has undergone significant declines in Europe; however, it is not clear if they refer to population reduction of wild or managed colonies. Further research is required to enable differentiation between wild and non-wild colonies in order to determine the conservation status of the species in the wild, meaning self sustaining, without treatments or management.[6]