Knowra Western honey bee Western honey bee The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a social bee native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia. People manage it worldwide for honey, wax, and pollination.
Honey bee colony : A western honey bee society organized around a queen, workers, and seasonal drones. Its caste structure coordinates reproduction, brood care, defense, and food collection.
Apiculture : The practice of keeping and managing bees, especially honey bees, in colonies. It encompasses the husbandry used to maintain western honey bee colonies.
Apis mellifera : The scientific name for the western honey bee, a species in the genus Apis. It is the species identity behind the common name.
Colony collapse disorder : A syndrome in which worker bees abruptly disappear from a managed colony, leaving brood and a queen behind. Its emergence drew attention to threats facing managed honey bee colonies.
Bumblebee : A robust social bee in the genus Bombus, usually living in smaller colonies than honey bees. Bumblebees form social colonies but differ in size, life cycle, and management.
Honey bee communication : The signals honey bees use to coordinate activity, including dances, odors, and vibrations. Communication lets workers recruit nestmates to food and respond to colony needs.
Honey : A sweet substance bees produce from flower nectar and store as food. It is the best-known food harvested from managed western honey bee colonies.
Eusociality : A social system marked by cooperative brood care, overlapping generations, and reproductive division of labor. Western honey bees display this distinctive form of insect society.
Varroa destructor : A parasitic mite that feeds on honey bees and transmits viruses, damaging colonies. It is a major cause of health problems in western honey bee colonies.
Solitary bee : A bee species in which females generally build and provision their own nests without a worker caste. Most bee species are solitary, unlike the western honey bee’s large cooperative colonies.
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