Apis mellifera

The species is divided into at least 20 recognized subspecies.

The western honey bee naturally occurs in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

People have carried European honey bees so widely that they are now naturalized on every continent except Antarctica.

The queen produces all of the colony's offspring and can lay up to 1,500 eggs a day.

From egg to adult, a queen takes 15 to 16 days, a worker 21 days and a drone 24 days.

A young queen leaves the colony to mate with about 15 drones.

Workers are non-reproductive females that take on different jobs in a predictable order as they age.

European honey bees usually swarm in spring and early summer, when flowers offer plenty of pollen and nectar.

A nest is made of several wax combs that hang parallel to each other, with an even gap, the bee space, between them.

When a swarm leaves, the bees look for a new home, typically an enclosed cavity such as a tree hollow.

A colony reproduces by swarming: the old queen and about two thirds of the adult workers leave the colony.

Besides honey, people use several other products made by honey bees: pollen, wax, royal jelly and propolis.

In the United States, bees of all kinds are estimated to pollinate up to 15 billion dollars' worth of crops each year.