SPECIES
Western honey bee
Apis mellifera
A flower visitor that carries information back to an entire colony through movement.
Honey bees live in organised colonies that include a queen, workers and drones; pheromones help coordinate life in the hive.
Foraging workers collect nectar and pollen from flowers and can communicate the location of food using a waggle dance.
As bees visit flowers, pollen can move between plants, supporting their reproduction.
What does a western honey bee eat?
nectar & pollen
Worth knowing
- Waggle dance Worker bees communicate a discovered food source through movement.
- Colony life Queens, workers and drones have different roles.
- Pollination Visits to flowers can transfer pollen between plants.
One colony, different lives
A honey bee colony includes specialised workers, drones and a queen, and chemical signals are important for coordination.
Finding food together
A successful forager can return to the colony and communicate the direction and distance of food with a waggle dance.
Pollination can occur as pollen is transferred between visited flowers.
A world of flowers
Honey bees gather nectar and pollen from flowers and are widely used as managed pollinators for crops.
Threats inside the hive
USDA identifies pests, pathogens, pesticides and poor nutrition among important overlapping pressures on honey bee colonies.
The parasitic mite Varroa destructor is a particularly serious threat to managed Apis mellifera colonies.
Sources
- Smithsonian — Honeybee biology and behaviour
- USDA ARS — Varroa overview
- USDA ARS — The buzz about bees
Records of where it has been seen come live from GBIF; observed interactions from GloBI. Draft — not yet reviewed by a person.