Honey bee  (Apis mellifera)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Description

The honey bee is probably one of the best-known of all insects in the world (3); it performs a vital role in the pollination of flowering plants, including our crop species (4) . There are three 'castes' within a bee hive, a 'queen' (the reproductive female), the 'drones' (reproductive males) and 'workers' (non-reproductive females) (3). All three castes are broadly similar in appearance; the body is covered in short hairs, and is divided into a head, a thorax and an abdomen, the head features two large eyes and a pair of antennae. The thorax bears two pairs of wings above, and three pairs of legs below and there is a slender 'waist' between the thorax and abdomen (5). The queen has a much longer and slender abdomen than the workers, and the drones can be identified by their broader abdomens and much larger eyes (5).

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