Honey+Bees+(PRM)


 * Honey Bees**

Honey bees are a subset of the genus //Apis// and are usually distinguished by the production and storage of honey and construction of hives out of wax. Historically, between six and eleven //Apis// species have been identified and while the lines between species and subspecies remain a little blurred, it appears that the number may be close to ten (Arias,Maria 2005). While there are around 20,000 known species of bees, and some of these do actually produce honey, only those in the //Apis// genus are truly considered honey bees. Commonly recognised honey bee species include:

//Apis florea –// Commonly known as the red dwarf honey bee, it's found through out south and southeastern Asia. It's much smaller than most other species.

//Apis andreniformis –// A 'sister species' of //A. florea//, more commonly known as the black dwarf honey bee. It is found in the topical and subtropical regions of Asia.

//Apis dorsata –// Or the giant honey bee is a large and very aggressive species found mainly in forrested areas of south and southeastern Asia. It has has never been domesticated, probably due to its unusual nest construction, which is usually covered by several dense layers of bees. When the hive is threatened these layered bees perform a type of 'mexican wave' warning.

//Apis koschevnikovi –// A species of honey bee found in Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo.

//Apis cerana// - Known more commonly as the Asiatic honey bee or the Eastern honey bee, found in most areas of Asia. It is a fairly small bee which is often domesticated, however it forms smaller colonies and has a smaller honey yield than the European honey bee.

//Apis nigrocincta –// Is closely related to //A cerana//, and is found in the Philippine island of Mindanao and several Indonesian islands.

//Apis mellifera –// Is the Western honey bee, European honey bee, or Common honey bee whos origins are still argued today. It is the most domesticated, and sought insect for apiculture and crop pollination world wide.

media type="youtube" key="FjVQA0eu3-I?fs=1" height="385" width="480" This video shows //Apis dorsata//, the giant honey bee defending their hive with the 'mexican wave' warning.