Honey Bee

Honey Bee facts at a glance

How big is a honey bee?

An adult honey bee measures 2 cm long — about 1% of the height of an average adult person (1.73 m) — and weighs around 0 g, a small fraction of an average adult’s body weight (70 kg).

What is a group of honey bees called?

Explore more animal collective nouns and baby animal names .

Life in the colony

A honey bee colony is a single tightly organized society. One queen lays all the eggs, thousands of female workers forage, build comb, feed young, and defend the hive, and male drones exist mainly to mate. Tasks shift as a worker ages, from cleaning and nursing inside the hive to foraging outside.

Pollination and honey

As bees move between flowers collecting nectar and pollen, they transfer pollen and fertilize plants. This pollination underpins a large portion of global food crops. Back at the hive, bees convert nectar into honey, a stored food that sustains the colony through times when flowers are scarce.

The waggle dance

Honey bees share the location of good food sources through a remarkable behavior called the waggle dance. A returning forager moves in a figure-eight pattern, and the angle and duration of the central "waggle" run encode the direction and distance of the flowers relative to the sun.

Threats and importance

Honey bees face pressure from habitat loss, pesticides, parasites such as the varroa mite, and disease. Because they pollinate so many crops, their health is closely tied to food security, and beekeepers and researchers work to keep colonies strong.

Did you know? Honey Bee facts

• The honey bee is a social insect that lives in colonies of tens of thousands, built around a single egg-laying queen.
• A healthy honey bee colony usually contains 20,000 to 80,000 bees in summer, made up of one queen, many thousands of female workers, and some male drones.
• Honey bees pollinate a large share of the crops people eat, helping plants produce fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. They also produce honey and beeswax.
• The waggle dance is how a honey bee tells hive mates where to find food. The direction and length of its waggling run encode the direction and distance to the flowers.
• Summer worker bees live only about six weeks, while the queen can live two to five years. Workers raised in autumn can survive through the winter.
• Conservation: Not formally evaluated by IUCN.

Diet & feeding

Honey Bee feeds primarily as a nectar and pollen. A honey bee colony is a single tightly organized society. One queen lays all the eggs, thousands of female workers forage, build comb, feed young, and defend the hive, and male drones exist mainly to mate. Tasks shift as a worker ages, from cleaning and nursing inside t

Adaptations

• A honey bee colony is a single tightly organized society. One queen lays all the eggs, thousands of female workers forage, build comb, feed young, and defend the hive, and male drones exist mainly to mate. Tasks shift as a worker ages, from cleaning and nursing inside the hive to foraging outside.
• As bees move between flowers collecting nectar and pollen, they transfer pollen and fertilize plants. This pollination underpins a large portion of global food crops. Back at the hive, bees convert nectar into honey, a stored food that sustains the colony through times when flowers are scarce.

Behaviour & ecology

• A honey bee colony is a single tightly organized society. One queen lays all the eggs, thousands of female workers forage, build comb, feed young, and defend the hive, and male drones exist mainly to mate. Tasks shift as a worker ages, from cleaning and nursing inside the hive to foraging outside.
• As bees move between flowers collecting nectar and pollen, they transfer pollen and fertilize plants. This pollination underpins a large portion of global food crops. Back at the hive, bees convert nectar into honey, a stored food that sustains the colony through times when flowers are scarce.
• Honey bees share the location of good food sources through a remarkable behavior called the waggle dance. A returning forager moves in a figure-eight pattern, and the angle and duration of the central \

Communication

• Honey Bee uses scent, posture, and vocal signals to mark territory and coordinate social behaviour.
• Communication intensity often peaks during breeding seasons and territorial disputes.

Habitat & range

Worldwide wherever flowering plants grow

Ecological role

Honey Bee participates in pollination, decomposition, or prey-base support for birds and other insectivores.

Conservation status of the Honey Bee

Sources & references

This guide is compiled and reviewed against established zoological and conservation references. Key sources for the Honey Bee:

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  Conservation status (Not Evaluated) reflects the IUCN Red List category for Apis mellifera.

• iNaturalist — observations & photos

  Search citizen-science observations and community IDs for Apis mellifera. Useful for range checks and recent sightings — not a substitute for formal Red List status.

• GBIF — occurrence data

  Global Biodiversity Information Facility species search for Apis mellifera. Explore published occurrence records used in range research.

• IUCN Red List — Apis mellifera.

  Conservation status (Not Evaluated) and population trends.

• Animal Diversity Web — Apis mellifera. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

  Life history, morphology, and range.

• Wikipedia — Honey Bee.

  General taxonomy and overview (cross-check primary sources).

• Global Animal Guide editorial standards

  How we research, source, review, and update every guide for accuracy.