Andreas Trepte · Original image & credits · CC BY-SA 2.5
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Western honey bee
Meet western honey bee—one more extraordinary life to discover.
Also known as honeybee, bee
Discover the expedition atlasA reference overview
The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name Apis is Latin for 'bee', and mellifera is the Latin for 'honey-bearing' or 'honey-carrying', referring to the species' production of honey. Like all honey bee species, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers", and a small proportion of fertile males or "drones".
Overview excerpt from Wikipedia contributors · Western honey bee, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Excerpt may be shortened. Overview retrieved 2026-10-09.
