Western honey beeThe western honey bee or European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", referring to the species' production of honey. Like all honey bee species, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers", and a small proportion of fertile males or "drones".
Bee learning and communicationBee learning and communication includes cognitive and sensory processes in all kinds of bees, that is the insects in the seven families making up the clade Anthophila. Some species have been studied more extensively than others, in particular Apis mellifera, or European honey bee. Color learning has also been studied in bumblebees. Honey bees are sensitive to odors (including pheromones), tastes, and colors, including ultraviolet.
Apis dorsataSpeciesbox | name = Giant honey bee | image = Bidens-Apis dorsata-pollen baskets.jpg | image_caption = Pollinating Bidens (note pollen baskets) | image2 = Honeybee on Mimosa pudica at Kadavoor.jpg | image2_caption = Pollinating Mimosa pudica | genus = Apis | parent = Apis (Megapis) | species = dorsata | authority = Fabricius, 1793 | range_map = Apis dorsata distribution map.svg | range_map_alt = Map showing the range of A. dorsata | range_map_caption = Range of A.
Swarm behaviourSwarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving en masse or migrating in some direction. It is a highly interdisciplinary topic. As a term, swarming is applied particularly to insects, but can also be applied to any other entity or animal that exhibits swarm behaviour.