erre "to carry" - hence the scientific name means "honey-carrying bee". This is technically wrong, since honey bees carry nectar and produce honey. However, the name was coined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus who in a subsequent publication tried to correct it to Apis mellifica ("honey-making bee"); according to the rules of synonymy in zoological nomenclature, the older name has precedence. Some people who are unaware of this still use the incorrect subsequent spelling. As of October 28, 2006, the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium fully sequenced and analyzed the genome of Apis mellifera.In 2007 media attention focused on Colony Collapse Disorder, a "disappearance" of Western honey bee colonies in North America.
Subspecies originating in Europe
Apis mellifera ligustica , classified by Spinola, 1806 - the Italian bee. The most commonly kept race in North America, South America and southern Europe. They are kept commercially all over the world. They are very gentle, not very likely to swarm, and produce a large surplus of honey. They have few undesirable characteristics. Colonies tend to maintain larger populations through winter, so they require more winter stores (or feeding) than other temperate zone subspecies. The Italian bee is light colored and mostly leather colored, but some strains are golden.
Apis mellifera carnica, classified by Pollmann, 1879 - Slovenia - better known as the Carniolan honey bee - popular with beekeepers due to its extreme gentleness. The Carniolan tends to be quite dark in color, and the colonies are known to shrink to small populations over winter, and build very quickly in spring. It is a mountain bee in its native range, and is a good bee for cold climates. It does not do well in areas with long, hot summers.
Apis mellifera caucasica, classified by Pollmann, 1889 - Caucasus Mountains - This sub-species is regarded as being very gentle and fairly industrious. Some strains are excessive propolizers. It is a large honeybee of medium, sometimes grayish color.
Apis mellifera remipes, classified by Gerstäcker, 1862 - Caucasus, Iran, Caspian lake.
Apis mellifera mellifera, classified by Linnaeus, 1758 - the dark bee of northern Europe also called the German honey bee - domesticated in modern times, and taken to North America in colonial times. These small, dark-colored bees, are sometimes called the German black bee.
The hybrid populations of A. m. mellifera x A. m. ligustica , found in North America and Western Europe, have the reputation of stinging people (and other creatures) for no good reason. The near-extinct "pure" A. m. mellifera is not considered randomly aggressive.
Apis mellifera iberiensis, classified by Engel, 1999 - the bee from the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal)
Apis mellifera cecropia, classified by Kiesenwetter, 1860 - Southern Greece
Apis mellifera cypria, classified by Pollmann, 1879 - The island of Cyprus - This sub-species has the reputation of being very fierce compared to the neighboring Italian sub-species, from which it is isolated by the Mediterranean Sea
Apis mellifera ruttneri, classified by Sheppard, Arias, Grech & Meixner in 1997- is a sub-species originating in the Maltese islands.
Apis mellifera sicula, classified by Montagano, 1911 - from the Trapani province and the island of Ustica of western Sicily (Italia)
Subspecies originating in Africa
Several researchers and beekeepers describe a general trait of the African subspecies which is absconding, where the Africanized honeybee colonies abscond the hive in ti
mes when food-stores are low, unlike the European colonies which tend to die in the hive.
Apis mellifera scutellata, classified by Lepeletier, 1836 - (African honey bee) Central and West Africa, now hybrids also in South America, Central America and the southern USA. In an effort to address concerns by Brazilian beekeepers and to increase honey production in Brazil, Warwick Kerr, a Brazilian geneticist, was asked by Brazilian Federal and State authorities in 1956 to import several pure African queens from Tanzania to Piracicaba-São Paulo State in the south of Brazil. In a mishap some queens escaped. The African queens eventually mated with local drones and produced what are now known as Africanized honey bees on the American continent. The intense struggle for survival of honey bees in sub-Saharan Africa is given as the reason that this sub-species is proactive in defending the hive, and also more likely to abandon an existing hive and swarm to a more secure location. They direct more of their energies to defensive behaviors and less of their energies to honey storage. African honey bees are leather colored, difficult to distinguish by eye from darker strains of Italian bees.
Source:
Apis mellifera ligustica , classified by Spinola, 1806 - the Italian bee. The most commonly kept race in North America, South America and southern Europe. They are kept commercially all over the world. They are very gentle, not very likely to swarm, and produce a large surplus of honey. They have few undesirable characteristics. Colonies tend to maintain larger populations through winter, so they require more winter stores (or feeding) than other temperate zone subspecies. The Italian bee is light colored and mostly leather colored, but some strains are golden.
Apis mellifera carnica, classified by Pollmann, 1879 - Slovenia - better known as the Carniolan honey bee - popular with beekeepers due to its extreme gentleness. The Carniolan tends to be quite dark in color, and the colonies are known to shrink to small populations over winter, and build very quickly in spring. It is a mountain bee in its native range, and is a good bee for cold climates. It does not do well in areas with long, hot summers.
Apis mellifera caucasica, classified by Pollmann, 1889 - Caucasus Mountains - This sub-species is regarded as being very gentle and fairly industrious. Some strains are excessive propolizers. It is a large honeybee of medium, sometimes grayish color.
Apis mellifera remipes, classified by Gerstäcker, 1862 - Caucasus, Iran, Caspian lake.
Apis mellifera mellifera, classified by Linnaeus, 1758 - the dark bee of northern Europe also called the German honey bee - domesticated in modern times, and taken to North America in colonial times. These small, dark-colored bees, are sometimes called the German black bee.
The hybrid populations of A. m. mellifera x A. m. ligustica , found in North America and Western Europe, have the reputation of stinging people (and other creatures) for no good reason. The near-extinct "pure" A. m. mellifera is not considered randomly aggressive.
Apis mellifera iberiensis, classified by Engel, 1999 - the bee from the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal)
Apis mellifera cecropia, classified by Kiesenwetter, 1860 - Southern Greece
Apis mellifera cypria, classified by Pollmann, 1879 - The island of Cyprus - This sub-species has the reputation of being very fierce compared to the neighboring Italian sub-species, from which it is isolated by the Mediterranean Sea
Apis mellifera ruttneri, classified by Sheppard, Arias, Grech & Meixner in 1997- is a sub-species originating in the Maltese islands.
Apis mellifera sicula, classified by Montagano, 1911 - from the Trapani province and the island of Ustica of western Sicily (Italia)
Subspecies originating in Africa
Several researchers and beekeepers describe a general trait of the African subspecies which is absconding, where the Africanized honeybee colonies abscond the hive in ti
mes when food-stores are low, unlike the European colonies which tend to die in the hive.Apis mellifera scutellata, classified by Lepeletier, 1836 - (African honey bee) Central and West Africa, now hybrids also in South America, Central America and the southern USA. In an effort to address concerns by Brazilian beekeepers and to increase honey production in Brazil, Warwick Kerr, a Brazilian geneticist, was asked by Brazilian Federal and State authorities in 1956 to import several pure African queens from Tanzania to Piracicaba-São Paulo State in the south of Brazil. In a mishap some queens escaped. The African queens eventually mated with local drones and produced what are now known as Africanized honey bees on the American continent. The intense struggle for survival of honey bees in sub-Saharan Africa is given as the reason that this sub-species is proactive in defending the hive, and also more likely to abandon an existing hive and swarm to a more secure location. They direct more of their energies to defensive behaviors and less of their energies to honey storage. African honey bees are leather colored, difficult to distinguish by eye from darker strains of Italian bees.
Source:
Abramsona, Charles I. ; Aquinob, Italo S. ; Brain, Behavior, Evolution 2002;59:68-86) Behavioral
Studies of Learning in the Africanized Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) web accessed Nov. 2006
Apis mellifera capensis, classified by Eschscholtz, 1822 - the Cape bee from South Africa
Apis mellifera monticola, classified by Smith, 1961 - High altitude mountains at elevation between 1,500 and 3,100 metres of East Africa Mt. Elgon, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt.Kenya, Mt.Meru
Apis mellifera sahariensis, classified by Baldensperger, 1932 - from the Moroccan desert oases of Northwest Africa. This sub-species faces few predators other than humans and is therefore very gentle. Moreover, because of the low density of nectar-producing vegetation around the oases it colonizes, it forages up to five miles, much farther than sub-species from less arid regions. Other authorities say that while colonies of this species are not much inclined to sting when their hives are opened for inspection, they are, nevertheless, highly nervous.
Apis mellifera intermissa, classified by von Buttel-Reepen, 1906; Maa, 1953 - Northern part of Africa in the general area of Morocco, Libya and Tunisia. These bees are totally black. They are extremely fierce but do not attack without provocation. They are industrious and hardy, but have many negative qualities that argue against their being favored in the honey or pollination industry.
Apis mellifera major, classified by Ruttner, 1978 - from the Rif mountains of Northwest Morocco - This bee may be a brown variety of the Apis mellifera intermissa but there are also anatomic differences.
Apis mellifera adansonii, classified by Latreille, 1804 - originates Nigeria, Burkina Faso
Apis mellifera unicolor, classified by Latreille, 1804 - Madagascar
Apis mellifera lamarckii, classified by Cockerell, 1906 - (Lamarck's honey bee) of the Nile valley of Egypt and Sudan. This mitotype can also be identified in honey bees from California. [1]
Apis mellifera litorea, classified by Smith, 1961 - Low elevations of east Africa
Apis mellifera nubica, (Nubian honey bee) of Sudan
Apis mellifera jemenitica, classified by Ruttner, 1976 - Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Yemen
Subspecies originating in the Middle East and Asia
Apis mellifera macedonica, classified by Ruttner, 1988 - Republic of Macedonia and Northern Greece
Apis mellifera meda, classified by Skorikov, 1829 - Iraq
Apis mellifera adamii, classified by Ruttner, 1977 - Crete
Apis mellifera armeniaca, Mid-East, Caucasus, Armenia
Apis mellifera anatolica, classified by Maa, 1953 - This race is typified by colonies in the central region of Anatolia in Turkey and Iraq (Range extends as far West as Armenia). It has many good characteristics but is rather unpleasant to deal with in and around the hive.
Apis mellifera syriaca, classified by Skorikov, 1829 - (Syrian honeybee) Near East and Israel
Apis mellifera pomonella, classified by Sheppard & Meixner, 2003 - Endemic honey bees of the Tien Shan Mountains in Central Asia. This sub-species of Apis mellifera has a range that is the farthest East.
Studies of Learning in the Africanized Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) web accessed Nov. 2006Apis mellifera capensis, classified by Eschscholtz, 1822 - the Cape bee from South Africa
Apis mellifera monticola, classified by Smith, 1961 - High altitude mountains at elevation between 1,500 and 3,100 metres of East Africa Mt. Elgon, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt.Kenya, Mt.Meru
Apis mellifera sahariensis, classified by Baldensperger, 1932 - from the Moroccan desert oases of Northwest Africa. This sub-species faces few predators other than humans and is therefore very gentle. Moreover, because of the low density of nectar-producing vegetation around the oases it colonizes, it forages up to five miles, much farther than sub-species from less arid regions. Other authorities say that while colonies of this species are not much inclined to sting when their hives are opened for inspection, they are, nevertheless, highly nervous.
Apis mellifera intermissa, classified by von Buttel-Reepen, 1906; Maa, 1953 - Northern part of Africa in the general area of Morocco, Libya and Tunisia. These bees are totally black. They are extremely fierce but do not attack without provocation. They are industrious and hardy, but have many negative qualities that argue against their being favored in the honey or pollination industry.
Apis mellifera major, classified by Ruttner, 1978 - from the Rif mountains of Northwest Morocco - This bee may be a brown variety of the Apis mellifera intermissa but there are also anatomic differences.
Apis mellifera adansonii, classified by Latreille, 1804 - originates Nigeria, Burkina Faso
Apis mellifera unicolor, classified by Latreille, 1804 - Madagascar
Apis mellifera lamarckii, classified by Cockerell, 1906 - (Lamarck's honey bee) of the Nile valley of Egypt and Sudan. This mitotype can also be identified in honey bees from California. [1]
Apis mellifera litorea, classified by Smith, 1961 - Low elevations of east Africa
Apis mellifera nubica, (Nubian honey bee) of Sudan
Apis mellifera jemenitica, classified by Ruttner, 1976 - Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Yemen
Subspecies originating in the Middle East and Asia
Apis mellifera macedonica, classified by Ruttner, 1988 - Republic of Macedonia and Northern Greece
Apis mellifera meda, classified by Skorikov, 1829 - Iraq
Apis mellifera adamii, classified by Ruttner, 1977 - Crete
Apis mellifera armeniaca, Mid-East, Caucasus, Armenia
Apis mellifera anatolica, classified by Maa, 1953 - This race is typified by colonies in the central region of Anatolia in Turkey and Iraq (Range extends as far West as Armenia). It has many good characteristics but is rather unpleasant to deal with in and around the hive.
Apis mellifera syriaca, classified by Skorikov, 1829 - (Syrian honeybee) Near East and Israel
Apis mellifera pomonella, classified by Sheppard & Meixner, 2003 - Endemic honey bees of the Tien Shan Mountains in Central Asia. This sub-species of Apis mellifera has a range that is the farthest East.
Biology, life cycle
In the temperate zone, honey bees survive winter as a colony, and the queen begins egg laying in mid to late winter, to prepare for spring. This is most likely triggered by longer day length. She is the only fertile female, and deposits all the eggs from which the other bees are produced. Except a brief mating period when she may make several flights to mate with drones, or if she leaves in later life with a swarm to establish a new colony, the queen rarely leaves the hive after the larvae have become full grown bees. The queen deposits each egg in a cell prepared by the worker bees. The egg hatches into a small larva which is fed by nurse bees (worker bees who maintain the interior of the colony). After about a week, the larva is sealed up in its cell by the nurse bees and begins the pupal stage. After another week, it will emerge an adult bee.
For the first ten days of their lives, the female worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. After this, they begin building comb cells. On days 16 through 20, a worker receives nectar and pollen from older workers and stores it. After the 20th day, a worker leaves the hive and spends the remainder of its life as a forager. The population of a healthy hive in mid-summer can average between 40,000 and 80,000 bees.
For the first ten days of their lives, the female worker bees clean the hive and feed the larvae. After this, they begin building comb cells. On days 16 through 20, a worker receives nectar and pollen from older workers and stores it. After the 20th day, a worker leaves the hive and spends the remainder of its life as a forager. The population of a healthy hive in mid-summer can average between 40,000 and 80,000 bees.
In honey bees, the worker bees have a modified ovipositor called a stinger with which they can sting to defend the hive, but unlike other bees of any other genus (and even unlike the queens of their own species), the stinger is barbed. Contrary to popular belief, the bee will not always die so
on after stinging: this is a misconception based on the fact that a bee will usually die after stinging a human or other mammal. The sting and associated venom sac are modified so as to pull free of the body once lodged (autotomy), and the sting apparatus has its own musculature and ganglion which allow it to keep delivering venom once detached. It is presumed that this complex apparatus, including the barbs on the sting, evolved specifically in response to predation by vertebrates, as the barbs do not function (and the sting apparatus does not detach) unless the sting is embedded in elastic material. Even then, the barbs do not always "catch", so a bee may occasionally pull the sting free and either fly off unharmed, or sting again.
Drone bees are the male bees of the colony. Since they do not have ovipositors, they also do not have stingers. Drone honeybees do not forage for nectar or pollen. In some species, drones are suspected of playing a contributing role in the temperature regulation of the hive. The primary purpose of a drone bee is to fertilize a new queen. Multiple drones will mate with any given queen in flight, and each drone will die immediately after mating; the process of insemination requires a lethally convulsive effort. Drone honey bees are haploid (having single, unpaired chromosomes) in their genetic structure and are descended only from their mother, the queen. They truly do not have a father. In essence, drones are the equivalent of flying gametes. In regions of temperate climate, the drones are generally expelled from the hive before Winter and die of cold and starvation, since they are unable to forage or produce honey or take care of themselves.
The average lifespan of the queen in most subspecies is three to four years. However, there are reports that in the German/European Black Bee subspecies that was previously used for beekeeping, the queen was said to live 7 to 8 years or more.[citation needed] Because queens successively run out of sperm, towards the end of their life they start laying more and more unfertilized eggs. Beekeepers therefore frequently change queen every or every other year.
The lifespan of the workers vary drastically over the year in places with an extended winter. Workers born in the spring will work hard and live only a few weeks, whereas those born in the autumn will stay inside for several months as the colony hibernates.
Honey bee queens release pheromones to regulate hive activities, and worker bees also produce pheromones for various communications
on after stinging: this is a misconception based on the fact that a bee will usually die after stinging a human or other mammal. The sting and associated venom sac are modified so as to pull free of the body once lodged (autotomy), and the sting apparatus has its own musculature and ganglion which allow it to keep delivering venom once detached. It is presumed that this complex apparatus, including the barbs on the sting, evolved specifically in response to predation by vertebrates, as the barbs do not function (and the sting apparatus does not detach) unless the sting is embedded in elastic material. Even then, the barbs do not always "catch", so a bee may occasionally pull the sting free and either fly off unharmed, or sting again.Drone bees are the male bees of the colony. Since they do not have ovipositors, they also do not have stingers. Drone honeybees do not forage for nectar or pollen. In some species, drones are suspected of playing a contributing role in the temperature regulation of the hive. The primary purpose of a drone bee is to fertilize a new queen. Multiple drones will mate with any given queen in flight, and each drone will die immediately after mating; the process of insemination requires a lethally convulsive effort. Drone honey bees are haploid (having single, unpaired chromosomes) in their genetic structure and are descended only from their mother, the queen. They truly do not have a father. In essence, drones are the equivalent of flying gametes. In regions of temperate climate, the drones are generally expelled from the hive before Winter and die of cold and starvation, since they are unable to forage or produce honey or take care of themselves.
The average lifespan of the queen in most subspecies is three to four years. However, there are reports that in the German/European Black Bee subspecies that was previously used for beekeeping, the queen was said to live 7 to 8 years or more.[citation needed] Because queens successively run out of sperm, towards the end of their life they start laying more and more unfertilized eggs. Beekeepers therefore frequently change queen every or every other year.
The lifespan of the workers vary drastically over the year in places with an extended winter. Workers born in the spring will work hard and live only a few weeks, whereas those born in the autumn will stay inside for several months as the colony hibernates.
Honey bee queens release pheromones to regulate hive activities, and worker bees also produce pheromones for various communications
Bees produce honey by collecting nectar, which is a clear liquid consisting of nearly 80% water with complex sugars. The collecting bees store the nectar in a second stomach and return to the hive where worker bees remove the nectar. The worker bees digest the raw nectar for about 30 minutes using enzymes to break up the complex sugars into simpler ones. Raw honey is then spread out in empty honeycomb cells to dry, which reduces the water content to less than 20%. When nectar is being processed, honeybees create a draft through the hive by fanning with their wings. Once dried, the cells of the honeycomb are sealed (capped) with wax to preserve the honey.
When a hive detects smoke, many bees become remarkably non aggressive. It is speculated that this is a defense mechanism; wild colonies generally live in hollow trees, and when bees detect smoke it is presumed that they prepare to evacuate from a forest fire, carrying as much food reserve as they can. In order to do this, they will go to the nearest honey storage cells and gorge on honey. In this state they are quite docile since defense from predation is relatively unimportant; saving as much as possible is the most important activity.
When a hive detects smoke, many bees become remarkably non aggressive. It is speculated that this is a defense mechanism; wild colonies generally live in hollow trees, and when bees detect smoke it is presumed that they prepare to evacuate from a forest fire, carrying as much food reserve as they can. In order to do this, they will go to the nearest honey storage cells and gorge on honey. In this state they are quite docile since defense from predation is relatively unimportant; saving as much as possible is the most important activity.
