| Scientific Name |
 Click photo to enlarge. Photo by Charles Wilder. |
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| Apis mellifera Linnaeus - ATBI Database: Specimen Records | |||||
| Common Name | |||||
| Honey bee | |||||
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | |
| Animalia | Arthropoda | Insecta | Hymenoptera | Apidae | |
| Animals | Arthropods | Insects | Sawflies, Parasitic wasps, Ants, Wasps, and Bees | Long-tongued bees | |
Apis is a genus native to the old world that includes four species. These species are all considered honey bees because of their eusocial life style and tendency to produce wax. The species of Apis found in the Americas is Apis mellifera. Introduced for its wax and honey making capabilities currently it is commercially spread for use of pollination in areas of intensive farming. The predominant subspecies of Apis mellifera used for commercial purposes is the Italian bee Apis mellifera linguistica (Daly et al 1998).
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
Physical Description:
The species lacks a spur on its hind tibia, and females have curved pollen carrying hairs called scopa on their hind tibia (Daly 1998). Apis also have an elongated wing pattern. Distinguishing behavioral differences are the creation of hexagon shaped cells made from bee produced wax, communication via a “waggle dance” and the tendency to cool nests by using collected evaporating water. The drones are the largest caste with a wing length of 12.24mm, the queen’s wing length is 9.92mm and the worker’s wing length averages 9.32mm (Ruttner 1988).
DISTRIBUTION
Global
Native to the old world Apis mellifera is the only member of Apis to be found in the new world. The most widely spread and predominant subspecies used commercially in the Americas is Apis mellifera lingustica (Ruttner 1988).North America / Regional
Apis mellifera can be found in most climates except for deserts (Ruttner 1988).Park
 Click map for current locations. |
NATURAL HISTORY
Habitat
Apis mellifera build nests several meters above ground using cavities in large deciduous trees. They are usually 15-80 liters in volume with a south facing opening (Seeley 1985). When a colony gets too large for it’s hive space it will swarm. When this happens the old queen and half the hive will leave to find a new nest. The new queen and the remaining members of the hive will continue in the old hive. Evident in their large range and how easily they assimilated with the new world environment, honey bees are not associated with any specific climate, except they cannot survive in the desert (Daly et al 1998).
Reproduction
Reproduction is dominated by the queen. She releases a “queen pheromone” that inhibits the development of the ovaries of the workers. In her two to three year life span she may lay 600,000 fertilized (female) and unfertilized (male) eggs. Workers are laid first in the season, then drones and finally the future queens, it takes 3 weeks for an individual to grow from egg to adult (Daly et al 1998).
Longevity
Workers live five to six weeks unless they over winter then they will live for 6 months. Queens live for two to three years. Drones live for four to five weeks. Copulating rips out the male genitalia killing them and those that do not mate are kicked out of the hive at the end of the season and die (Daly et al 1998).
Ecology
Apis mellifera spend energy and time collecting four resources for the hive; pollen, nectar, resin and water. Pollen provides protein, nectar, carbohydrates, resin is used to plug holes in the nest and water is used for diluting honey and in an evaporative cooling process.
Associated Species
Humans
The apiculture industry was created in the 1500’s when removable frames were developed. This allowed people to collect specific layers of the combs without destroying the hives. It is now the most widely practiced form of agriculture and 177 crops are beneficially pollinated by honey bees (Daly et al. 1998).
Parasites
The tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) lays eggs on the hairs of honey bees. The eggs then make their way into the trachea of the honey bees where they remain until they hatch. These eggs inhibit the respiratory capabilities of the bee (Suszkiw 2001) and there for decrease their productivity and the life span of an infected nest. This is a threat to the apiculture industry so currently much research is being done on this mite (Denmark 2000).
Hybridization
Separated by the Saharan desert the African subspecies Apis mellifera scutellata evolved separately from the other subspecies of Apis mellifera. They were brought to the new world and began to hybridize with the European honey bees. Their greater tendency to be aggressive caused them to be harmful to the apiculture industry (Daly et al. 1998).CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
Special Protection Status
Rangewide: None. The North American honey bee populations are threatened by two types of mites. The tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) and the varroa mite (Varroa jacobsori) were introduced in the 1980’s. They are especially a threat to the wild bee populations that never get prevention treatments. To help conserve wild honey bees more honey bee foraging habitat needs to be created. Good habitat is undisturbed meadows with a high diversity of flowers. A field with non invading trees and herbaceous perennials provides the best habitat (Delaplane 1998).
Regional: None.
Park: All plants and animals are protected within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit, which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.
Management Concerns
N/A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Drawings
N/A
Field Work
N/A
Maps
N/A
Photographs
Charles Wilder.
References
Daly H. V., Doyen J. T., Purcell A. H. III (1998) Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.
Delaplane, Keith S. (1998) Bee Conservation in the Southeast. University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental sciences cooperative extension services. Bulletin 1164.
Denmark, H. A. “Featured Creature” Florida department of Agriculture and consumer services (2000) November.
Ruttner Friedrich (1988) Biogeography and Taxonomy of Honeybees. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
Seeley, Thomas D. (1985) Honeybee Ecology: A study of Adaptation in Social Life. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Suszkiw, Jan. (2001) Honey bees mite breath easier. Agricultural Research vol. 49. No. 3.
Supporting Institutions
N/A
Text
A. T. Moyer and P. E. Super.
Eusocial: The most advanced form of social behavior: members cooperate in caring for young; at least two generations overlap; and the labor of reproduction is divided between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals. Honey bees are eusocial insects with three casts; the reproducing queen, drones, and workers.
