What are Honey Bees

A honey bee is any bee member of the genus, Apis (Latin for ‘bee’) that is responsible for the production and storage of honey and the construction of colonial nests made of wax. There are only seven recognized species of honey bees, with 44 subspecies. One of the best-known honey bees is the Western honey bee, which has been domesticated and used for commercial honey production and crop pollination.

wing body pollenbasket mouthparts eye antenna

Honey bees have three main segments of their bodies: the head, thorax, and abdomen. Click on the image to learn more about the physiology of a honey bee.