Page 5 - My FlipBook

A is for Apis mellifera

Apis is the clue that

we’re talking about a bee.
And mellifera means
it’s all about honey.

Honey bees are social insects working
together for the health of the colony.
A colony is the family unit with one
queen, workers, and drones all living
harmoniously in the hive.

There are about 11 species of honey
bees. Four common species are Apis
mellifera (European honey bee), Apis
florea (dwarf honey bee), Apis dorsata
(giant honey bee), and Apis cerana
(Asian hive honey bee).

The average size of a healthy productive
hive is about 60,000 bees with one
egg-laying queen (but sometimes two).
The majority of the population are
female workers, who do a variety of
ever-changing jobs. The smallest
percentage of bees are the males
(drones), whose only function is to
mate with a queen.

Honey bees are not native to the United
States. Ship records show that honey
bees were brought to North America
as early as the 1620s!