Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

OTHER NAMES: European Honey Bee

Latin Etymology: Apis ("bee") mellifera ("honey")

Adult Western Honey Bee (subspecies A. m. mellifera) at Geddington Chase, Northants - June 2011

Featured Subspecies: Apis mellifera mellifera
Length: 10-15mm  /  Wingspan: 18mm
NOT EVALUATED IN UK / IUCN Red List: Data Deficient

The Honey Bee is probably one of the most widely known species of insect in the Europe, and just about the only one that is raised on any major commercial scale thanks to it's honey and wax.  A highly colonial species, they have suffered badly in recent years and are in steep decline - much of which is attributed to pesticides and parasites.  They are nonetheless still common visitors to gardens, in mine they seem to particularly favour lavender.

Related Species:
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Subspecies: A. m. mellifera, A. m. arteisisa, A. m. carnica, A. m. cecropia, A. m. iberiensis, A. m. ligustica, A. m. macedonica, A. m. madaros, A. m. madaros, A. m. rutterneri, A. m. siciliana, A. m. siciliana, A. m. sossimai, A. m. adami, A. m. anataloiaca, A. m. caucasia, A. m. cyperia, A. m. meda, remipes, A.m syriaca, A. m. adansonii, A. m. capensis, A. m. intermissa, A. m. jemeniticia, A. m. lamarckii, A. m. litorea, A. m. monticola, A. m. sahariensis, A. m. scutellata, A. m. unicolor

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A common resident species which is seen in Summer

 - Seen in Geddington and numerous other locations

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto