• Honey bees belong to the family Apidae, suborder Apocrita, of the order Hymenoptera.
• There are about 9 different known species of bees that make honey.
• The most commonly recognized honey bee species, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, is native to Africa and Europe, and subdivided into about 24 subspecies.

 

Species

Apis cerana : The Indian hive bee

The three races occur in India. Their distribution is as follows.

Apis cerana cerana: North-western region including Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Apis cerana himalaya: North-eastern region including the north-eastern Himalayan states.

Apis cerana indica: South India, including Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh.

Apis dorsata, The rock bee or giant honeybee

Apis florea, Little bee.

Apis mellifera,The European or Italian bee or western honeybee.

Desirable characteristics of colonies kept for economic purposes are :

• Capable of adopting to floral resources.
• Reproductive efficiency to maintain strong colonies.
• Calm and easily managed bees.
• No or little swarming and absconding instinct.
• Good honey gatherers.
• Less prone to the attack of diseases and capable of overwintering well.

 

Apis florea and Apis dorsata build single comb nests in the open, florea in low bushes and A. dorsata in trees. Like other tropical honeybees they are prone to migrations, at times over considerable distances. These migrations may be seasonal or in some cases may be a defence against predators and parasites. Although unsuitable for apicultural use, both these species make a major contribution to the supply of honey and wax in the countries in their territorial range. Human predation usually involves destruction of the nest including the brood, but in some areas collection of honey is practised without destruction of the nest, and some honey gatherers even provide nest sites to which they transfer the whole colony. The lifestyle of Apis cerana is similar to that of the Western Honeybees, and like Apis mellifera it is used in apiculture with modern moveable comb hives. The numerical strength of A.cerana colonies is usually much less, and honey yields are smaller. It is therefore being rapidly supplanted by imported Mellifera races, chiefly A.m.ligustica. Bees of the genus Apis are not the only bees which contribute to the World's supply of honey and wax. Some species of Meliponinae form very large colonies and store sufficient honey to make their exploitation worthwhile. Modern apicultural methods are inapplicable, but tribes of Central and South American Indians have kept such bees in "hives" for hundreds of years. (It should not be inferred however, that Stingless bees are necessarily gentle and easy to handle; they may carry out mass attacks on large intruders such as man, inflicting painful bites with their powerful mandibles. some species inject a caustic venom which causes severe burns to the areas of skin affected.

 

Apis florea : It builds a single comb nest. There are 3.50 cells per linear cm. drone cells are 1.55 times larger in diameter. They choose shaded places in bushes or trees for nesting. Comb is always covered by more than one layer of bees. Honey yield per colony is about 250gms.

Apis dorsata :It is larger in size than all other bee species. It also builds single comb, fixed to a tree branch or under a roof or rock. Breadth of worker cell is about 5.3 mm and drone cells are also of the same size. Bees cover the comb like a curtain. Colony can yield upto 50 kg of honey. The bee colonies migrate long distances to avoid dearth periods and unfavourable weather conditions.

Apis cerana :Body size of bees varies from south to north India. The worker comb cell size varies according to size from 4.3 to 5 mm in diameter. Drone cell is 1.2 times wider than worker cell. The species serves the commercial beekeeping in most parts of the country. It is managed in modern bee hives and hives with different bee space are specified by ISI. The species has great draw back in their strong swarming instinct and absconding tendency. Honey yield from a colony varies from 3 to 10 kg and Kashmir race may yield even upto 25 kg per year.

Apis mellifera :It is most widely distributed species o honeybee in the world. It is larger in size than other domesticated Indian honeybee. Appearance and drone cell is 1.3 times larger. The bee species was introduced and established in India in 1960's and has been very successful in northern states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana. Average honey production is 25-30 kg per year per colony. There are many distinct and very variable races of this species in different parts of the world. The species in being tested in other states through the coordinating centres of All India Coordinated Project on Honeybees.