Question

Which Indian variety of honey bee is commonly used for apiculture?
A. Apis dorsata
B. Apis florea
C. Apis mellifera
D. Apis indica

Answer 1

Hint:
It is commonly known as Indian honey bee. Only one option from the given options is the Indian honey bee and that is commonly used for Apiculture in India.

Complete answer:
First you should know what Apiculture is. Apiculture is also known as beekeeping. As the name indicates, it is the rearing of honey bees or you can say it is the care and management of honey bees for the production of honey and the wax.
> The first option is Apis dorsata. It's common name is giant honey bee. It is a honey bee of South Asia and these are mainly found in areas of Terai of Nepal. But in the question Indian variety of honey bee is asked. This option gets eliminated clearly.
> The next option is B. i.e., Apis florea. It is commonly known as red dwarf honey bee. This is one of the two species of small and wild honey bee. These are honey bees of Southern Asia and are generally found in countries like Cambodia. Hence, this option is also not the correct one as we are looking for the Indian variety of honey bee.
> Moving to option C. i.e., Apis mellifera. It is commonly known as Western honey bee or European honey bee. These are naturally found in Europe, the Middle east and Africa. Therefore, this option also gets eliminated.
> The last option is Apis indica. It is commonly known as Indian honey bee. This honey bee is domesticated in India. It is ideal for beekeeping. These honey bees build up multiple combed nests in three hollows and in the man-made structures too. Therefore, this honey bee is commonly used for apiculture.

Thus, the correct answer is option D i.e., Apis indica.

Note: Apis indica is the most common bee species which is domesticated in India and these honey bees are most commonly used for Apiculture in India. These Indian honey bees make very small and exposed nests in the tree. Indigenous people traditionally use these species of bees for honey and beeswax and this process is known as bee hunting.