Wildlife
European honey bee
European honey bees have been introduced to nearly all parts of the world by humans, but they are thought to have originated in India. Their colonies are long-lasting and may last for many years. The bees live on stored reserves of food and huddle together in a large mass during cold winter weather. The drones are turned outside in autumn to die once their reproductive role is over.
Watch video clips from past programmes (14 clips)
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Precious honey
Life
Bees fight to the death against bears to save their honey supplies.
Despite having their nest destroyed by a black bear, a battered bee colony refuses to lie down and die. Instead each bee eats its own weight in honey so that the colony will have enough energy to sustain it as it builds a new nest elsewhere in the forest.
Hygienic honey bees
Springwatch
A dedicated bee-keeper has a plan to tackle varroa mites.
Chris Packham meets a dedicated apiarist who has a plan to tackle varroa mites by breeding bee colonies that know how to control the infestations.
Hail Caesar!
Bill Oddie's Top 10
The Romans did us quite a favour when they introduced honey bees to Britain.
Honey bees make it to the top of Bill Oddie's list of welcome alien species. Brought here by the Romans, they now play a vital role in our ecosystem, particularly in food production. If the calculation purported to have been made by Einstein is right, that if bees were to die out, humans would follow about five years after, the current honey bee decline should be a sure cause for concern.
Urban bees
Who Killed the Honey Bee?
Bees may be doing better in our towns and cities than out in the countryside.
Despite the serious decline in many bee populations, it would seem that the city slickers amongst bees are faring a little better than their countryside counterparts. This might shed some light on what's causing the decline.
Waggle dance
Trials of Life
Honey bees indicate the flight path to new nectar sources through a remarkable dance.
David Attenborough explains how honey bees are not only able to communicate new sources of nectar to others back in the hive, but how they update the information throughout the day.
Distribution
The European honey bee can be found in a number of locations including: Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, North America, Russia, South America, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
Habitats
The following habitats are found across the European honey bee distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Oak wood
Farmland
Brownfield land
Chalk grassland
Desert
Heathland
Hedgerows
Wildflower meadow
Mountain grassland
Moorland
Parkland
Broadleaf forest
Coniferous forest
Temperate grassland
UrbanBehaviours
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Warning colours
Eusocial
Adapted to flying
Metamorphosis
Egg layer
Pollinator
Chemical communication
SwarmingAdditional data source: Animal Diversity Web
About
The Western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a species of honey bee. The genus Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera comes from Latin melli- "honey" and ferre "to bear"—hence the scientific name means "honey-bearing bee". The name was coined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus who, realizing that the bees do not bear honey, but nectar, tried later to correct it to Apis mellifica ("honey-making bee") in a subsequent publication. However, according to the rules of synonymy in zoological nomenclature, the older name has precedence. As of October 28, 2006, the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium fully sequenced and analyzed the genome of Apis mellifera.
In 2007 media attention focused on colony collapse disorder, a decline in European honey bee colonies in a minority of regions of North America.
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Classification
- Life
- Animals
- Arthropods
- Insects
- Ants, bees and wasps
- Bees
- Apis
- European honey bee
Sounds
BBC News about European honey bee
- Genetic weapon against bee killer Researchers develop a genetic technique, which could revitalise the fight against the honeybee's worst enemy - the Varroa mite.
- City bees show a richer diet than bees from farmlands
- Honeybees 'cleverer in the morning'
- Honeybees survive for millennia in Sahara desert oasis
- Honeybees: 3D images reveal life inside a live hive
- Our bees are buzzing off. But why?
- Bee swarms follow 'pied pipers'
Video collections
Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
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Brilliant bees
Bees are amazing - not only do they fulfil a vital role in our ecosystem, they are one of the most complex and sophisticated living things in the history of evolution.
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What on Earth...? 2009
Watch the year's highlights from the BBC's exploration of the planet's hidden corners and rarest creatures: from the turquoise seas of the South Pacific to the Lost Land of the Volcano.
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Garden wildlife
From badgers to butterflies and frogs to foxes, garden wildlife is both varied and surprising.
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The wildlife of Life
In autumn 2009, a major new series brought us life as we've never seen it before.
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David Attenborough's favourite moments
Watch the most memorable moments from an incredible career watching wildlife, chosen by Sir David from the BBC archive.
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Honey bee identification, images and information (bugguide.net)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Honey bee biology (biology-resources.com)
- Beepedia: honey bee information (cornwallhoney.co.uk)
- Encyclopedia of Life entry (eol.org)
- European honey bee (wikipedia.org)
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BBC links
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