Western Honey Bee

General Information

Western honey bees grow to be 12–15 mm long, with queens being significantly larger than worker bees and drones. Within the hive, each type of bee has a specialised job to do. Workers are sterile females responsible for foraging, caring for young, and defending the hive, while drones are males whose primary role is to mate with a queen. Queens are the only fertile females and can lay up to 2,000 eggs per day during peak season.

Western honey bees feed on nectar and pollen collected from flowering plants. Nectar is converted into honey, which provides the colony with a food source, while pollen supplies essential proteins and nutrients for developing larvae. As they forage, honey bees play a vital role in pollinating many wild plants and agricultural crops.

Latin name – Apis mellifera
Class – Insecta
Family – Apidae
IUCN Status – Not Evaluated
Habitat – Woodlands, grasslands, farmland, gardens, and urban environments
Distribution – Native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia; now found worldwide