Honeybees represent only a small fraction of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees.
The production and storage of honey and the construction of recurrent, colonial nests out of wax differentiates the honeybee from other bees.
Carolus Linnaeus coined the scientific name Apis mellifera in 1758.
Apis mellifera means "honey-bearing bee".
Apis is Latin for "bee", melli - "honey" and ferre - "to bear" Realizing his mistake that the bees bear nectar not honey, he later tried to correct it to Apis mellifica ("honey-making bee") in a subsequent publication but according to the rules of synonymy in zoological nomenclature, the first name published has precedence.
In entomology the term 'race' defines the geographical location of their originating locality and their traits.
Currently, there are only seven recognized species of honeybees with a total of 44 subspecies, though historically, anywhere from six to eleven species have been known.
There are other types of related bees, which produce and store honey, but only members of the genus Apis are true honeybees.
The Western or European honeybee is the dominant species in most western countries including Australia and New Zealand.
Originally native to the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, early European settlers introduced them from the Old World to North and South America and they now have been spread around to nearly every continent.
Honeybees are only the third insect to have its genome mapped; and according to the scientists who analyzed its genetic code, the European honeybee originated in Africa and spread to Europe in two ancient migrations.
They have also discovered that the number of genes in the honeybees related to smell outnumbers those for taste.
In order to communicate to other honeybees, they use what some scientists call dance language.
When a successful foraging bee returns to the hive she tells her other hive mates the direction to the area of flowers with loads of pollen and nectar, water sources, or even new housing places by a particular figure-eight dance which in beekeeping the term used for this is the' Waggle dance'.
THE 4 MOST POPULAR RACES KEPT BY BEEKEEPERS TODAY.
· German Black Bee - Apis Mellifera var.
Mellifera L.
This was the original bee bought by settlers to most western countries.
They are large and dark coloured and over winter well.
German bees are nervous on the comb and aggressive to interference.
They are slow to build up numbers during the spring and less prolific than other races.
· Italian Bee - Apis Mellifera var.
Ligustica Spinola Originally from the Apennine Peninsula in Italy, the true Italian breed is the Ligustica.
There are 3 yellow bands on the abdomen of the Ligustica and 4 or 5 bands on the Italian.
These bees are usually gentle to manage, over winter well and build up quickly in spring.
Their proficient breeding ability during periods of little or no honey flow often results in depletion of their honey stores and as a result they have a tendency toward swarming.
Italians have the bad habit of robbing; selecting weak colonies or honey sheds but are a popular breed amongst beekeepers.
· Caucasian Bee - Apis Mellifera var.
Caucasica Gorbatschev Originating from Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas of Russia, these larger gray coloured bees are gentle to handle and very hard working.
They are tolerant to a harsh winter environment, building up slowly during the spring and having a low inclination toward swarming.
Caucasian bees are susceptible to diseases such as Nosema and produce more propolis than any other race.
· Carniolan Bee - Apis Mellifera var.
Carnica Pollmann The Carniolan bees originate from the Austrian Alps, northern Yugoslavia and Danube valley.
They are gray or dark in colour, very gentle to handle, over winter well conserving their winter stores and breeding prolifically during spring.
The Carniolan has a slightly smaller body than the other races of bees.
It has a high tendency toward swarming.