| Honey bee | |
|---|---|
 Honey bee carrying pollen to its hive | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Subfamily: | Apinae |
| Tribe: | Apini Latreille, 1802 |
| Genus: | Apis Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Species | |
Honey bees (or honeybees) are all within the genus Apis, the only extant member of the tribe Apini of the subfamily Apinae. Honey bees are primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are classified into seven recognized species with as many as 44 subspecies.[1] Historically, only six to eleven species had been recognized. Honey bees represent a small fraction of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees. Other species of bees also produce and store honey, but only members of the genus Apis are considered to be true honey bees.
Taxonomy[]
The 7 living species of the genus, Apis, are classified into three distinct subgenera[1]:
- Apis (subgenus) Linnaeus - consisting of 4 species:
- A. cerana Fabricius
- A. koschevnikovi Enderlein
- A. mellifera Linnaeus
- A. nigrocincta Smith
- Megapis Ashmead - consisting of 1 specie:
- A. dorsata Fabricius
- Micrapis Ashmead - consisting of 2 species:
- A. andreniformis Smith
- A. florea Fabricius
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Engel, Michael S. (1999). "The taxonomy of recent and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apis)". Journal of Hymenoptera Research (International Society of Hymenopterists) 8 (2): 165–196. https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_38760_thetaxonomyofrecentandfossilho1992.
External links[]
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