Honey bee

Honeybee

The honey bee (Apis ) are a genus of the family of the Real bees ( Apidae ). The genus includes nine forming species, eight of which are native only in Asia.

For the global beekeeping the Western honey bee has the greatest importance; in many Asian countries also there originally occurring Eastern honey bee is held in simple block booties or cavities of walls. These two species breed in the protection of caves and in that time have spread very far from the tropical regions out in more moderate climates, which have emerged in particular formed regionally different races of bees in the Western honey bee. A natural boundary of the settlement is often formed by woody plants.

Then there are the wild species with free-hanging nests, which are used on a modest scale for honey extraction, especially the giant honey bee and the dwarf honey bee - this is known as honey hunting. The cliff honey bee thereby threatens the extinction.

  • 3.1 Radio Posts
  • 3.2 Movies
  • 4.1 Notes and references
  • 4.2 Literature

System

In the study of honey bees, there has been in the now over two centuries many discoveries, see also history of beekeeping. This time as well as elsewhere many classifications in the classification (taxonomy ) have been revised again due to new findings in the course.

For species with a large distribution area, mainly Western and Eastern honey bee, yet there are regional variations, so-called races ( subspecies ), were added. Thus there are, for example, still a Japanese bee ( Apis cerana japonica), but only as a subset of the parent Article

In this context, a publication of Engel (1999) is seen, after which the species Apis laboriosa, which are only discovered in 1996 Apis nuluensis to subspecies of Apis dorsata and Apis cerana downgraded. However, it will still take a few years to have the new taxonomic names Apis dorsata and Apis cerana laboriosa nuluensis also among professionals and in their publications prevailed.

The other way round, evolution is not complete. Thus, for example, the Kapbiene (Apis mellifera capensis ) on the verge of crossing the species barrier (see Ruttner ). This differs in many of its properties already very different from the other races of the Western honey bee from.

The nine species of honeybees

  • Cliff honey bee ( Apis laboriosa, Frederick Smith, 1871) - Distribution: Himalayas
  • Giant honeybee ( Apis dorsata, Johann Christian Fabricius, 1798) - Distribution: India, Southeast Asia, Borneo, Sri Lanka
  • Western honey bee or European honey bee ( Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) - Occurrence: originally Europe, Africa, Middle East; now distributed by people around the world.
  • Apis nigrocincta (Frederick Smith, 1861) - Distribution: Sulawesi, Mindanao
  • Asian Mountain bee ( Apis nuluensis, Tingek, Koeniger and Koeniger 1996) - Distribution: Malaysia, Borneo
  • Eastern or Asian honey bee honey bee ( Apis cerana Fabricius, 1793), formerly known as Indian honey bee - Distribution: India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Borneo, Japan
  • Dwarf honeybee ( Apis florea Fabricius, 1787) - Distribution: Southeast Asia, Persian Gulf, Sri Lanka
  • Dwarf shrub or bush bee honey bee ( Apis andreniformis, Frederick Smith, 1858) - Distribution: Southeast Asia, Borneo

Bee deaths

Worldwide bee colonies die. The UNEP points out that die out in more and more parts of the world the honey bees in large numbers. The long-term study German bee monitoring ( Debimo ) is for Germany to conclude that the main reasons for the intermittent increased winter losses with the strong infestation with Varroa mites, infections with viruses (such as the wing deformation virus ), age of the queen, as well as weakening of the peoples in the fall related. In contrast, significant harm caused by infestation with the parasite Nosema, by pesticide residues or other causes could not be detected. Scientists at the San Francisco State University have made ​​responsible as a new working hypothesis, a parasitic fly species called Apocephalus borealis the bee deaths.

Documentation

Radio posts

  • The Silent Dying - Modern agriculture is threatening the bees a podcast contribution of the radio station Bayern 2 out of line IQ - Science and Research of 19 May 2010 on Podcast.de

Movies

  • "More than Honey ( 2012) " documentary about the death of bees

Documents

Apoidea Apinae Frederick Smith (entomologist) Johan Christian Fabricius Near East United Nations Environment Programme Integrated Authority File
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