Question

Name a few varieties of bees used for commercial honey production.

Answer 1

Hint: The field of science which aims at cultivation of bees for honey and bee wax production and living in a colony with a queen that is called apiculture . There are mainly 7 – 12 species of honey bees worldwide. In which few play a very important role in honey production and other products.

Complete answer:
The western honeybee or European honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) is the most common of all the species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name Apis latin name for “ bee “ and mellifera is the latin name for honey – bearing,it refers to the species which is used for production of honey. The different types of bees in a honey bee hive: worker, drone and queen. Each bee type has its own important roles and performs specific duties in a given bee colony. Female workers produce honey and then store the honey in honeycombs made of wax inside their nest. The “ worker “ bees live for about six weeks and it makes a few drops of honey during their lifetime. Other than honey they also produce beeswax, bee venom, propolis and royal jelly.

The local varieties of bees that are used for honey production are:
-Apis cerana indica commonly known as the Indian bee
-Apis dorsata, the rock bee. It is a giant honey bee.
-Apis florea, the little bee
-Apis mellifera , called European honey bee.it is gentle in nature. It has a high honey collection capacity. -It has more ability to protect itself from the enemies.

Note: There are 20,000 different types of bees in the world. But only one kind makes honey: the honey bee. This bee species lives in large families, or colonies and can be found all over the world. Female worker bees produce honey from pollen and nectar that they collect from plants on their fuzzy bodies while pollinating.