Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Dwarf Honey Bee Apis florea

One of the prettiest honey bees if not the prettiest I've seen.

More info ( Wikipedia )

The Pherobase also gives some substantial info on these pretty bees.

The distribution area of A. florea is generally confined to warm climates. In the west, the species is present in the warmer parts of Oman, Iran and Pakistan, through the Indian sub-continent and Sri Lanka.

It is found as far east as Indonesia, but its primary distribution center is southeast Asia. Rarely found at altitudes above 1500 m, the bee is absent north of the Himalayas.

It is frequently found in tropical forests, in woods and even in farming areas. In southeast Asia it is not rare to find a nest of A. florea in a village.

As its name implies, the dwarf honeybee is the smallest species of honeybee, troth In the body size of its workers and in the size of its nest. A nest of A. florea consists of a single comb, whose upper part expands to form a crest that surrounds the branch or other object from which the comb is suspended.

Dwarf honeybees nest in the open, but not without camouflage: most nests are hung from slender branches of trees or shrubs covered with relatively dense foliage, usually from 1 to 8 meters above the ground. In Oman, where A. florea nests are frequently found in caves, such combs are without crests.

~ The Pherobase

Well since I don't want to be sued I guess I'd better give a link to the info ( there is more ).

Clicky!


Who knew that there were so many kinds of Honey bees?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are very nice - docile and make great honey. Here is a link on my blog to the Oman Little Bee

Brittanie said...

Thanks!

I'd love to try some honey made from them but I wouldn't know where to get it from.

Anonymous said...

Visit Oman - the honey is light, fine and sweet. Usually sold on the comb

Iffat Sultana said...

You will see the dwarf honey bees everywhere in Bangladesh. Currently, a team of these bees is building a beehive in our rooftop garden. Although they might sting, they are still beautiful to look at.