Honey Bee sub-species

Bold species are available or present in the United States.

Africanized - Apis mellifera scutellata  - hardiness, quick build-up,

swarmy, abscond, build brood over stores, no cold resistance

All-American- Italian hybrid mite resistance, quick build-up, gentle, not swarmy, production, wintering, housekeeping

All-Star- Italian hybrid

Anatolian– Apis mellifera Anatolica - prolific, wintering, vitality, longevity, orientation

Aggressive in cold, enormous number of queen cells, swarming

Buckfast – gentle, mite resistance, spring build-up, not swarmy, wintering, longevity, production, housekeeping

Carniolan – Apis mellifera Carnica – good temper, calm on the combs, industry, orientation, hardiness, brood disease resistance, winter survival, thriftiness, minimal propolis, good on cold and wet days

Swarming, premature spring build-up, reluctance to enter supers, poor comb building, suspend brood rearing in pause of honey flow

Cape – Apis mellifera Capensis – workers lay by thelytoky

Caucasian – Apis mellifera Caucasica – gentle, tongue-reach, stores food close to brood, stores on minimum comb, work cool and wet

Brace comb, propolis, susceptible to disease, late build-up, drifting, robbing, wet cappings

Cretan- Apis mellifera Adami – good production

Aggressive, clusters of queen cells

Cyprian - Apis mellifera cypria – not swarmy, best performance, best wintering, vitality,quick build-up, disease resistant, no brace comb, orientation

Limited fertility, defensive, laying workers

Egyptian – Apis mellifera Fasciata (Lamarckii) – no propolis, very prolific, calm, self-defense, low drifting

Aggressive, moderate fertility, no winter cluster, clusters of queen cells, No cold resistance

German – Apis mellifera mellifera – 3 sub-types - mellifera (brown bee) lehzeni (heathland bee) nigra (black bee) overwinter well

Slow spring build-up

Greek – Apis mellifera Cecropia – fecundity, reluctance to swarm, colony strength, good housekeeping

Excessive propolis, brace comb, watery flat cappings

Italian – Apis mellifera Ligustica – industry, gentleness, fertility, reluctance to swarm, comb building zeal, white cappings, willingness to enter supers, cleanliness, disease resistance

Excessive brood rearing, lacks vitality, drifting

Midnight - Caucasian and Carniolan hybrid

Minnesota Hygienic – disease resistant, hygienic

Russian – mite resistance, winter hardiness, less propolis, quick build-up

always raising queen cells, swarmy, small population even during flow

Saharan – Apis mellifera Sahariensis – vitality, longevity, comb-building

Low fecundity, cold susceptible

SMR – Suppression of Mite Reproduction – mite tolerant, hygeinic

Starline – Italian hybrid, vigor, production, fast build-up

Large winter population, poor overwinter

Syrian - Apis mellifera  syriaca –

Defensive

Tellian or Arab - Apis mellifera intermissa – pollen gathering, vitality

Defensive, swarmy, excessive brood rearing, heavy propolis, disease susceptibility,

Tien Shan - Apis mellifera pomonella-  Apidologie 34 (2003) 367–375 © INRA/DIB-AGIB/ EDP Sciences, 2003 DOI: 10.1051/apido:2003037

VSH – Varroa Suppression Hygeinics

Yugo Russian and Carniolan hybrid, overwinters well, not swarmy

Asian or Himalayan bees are not able to interbreed with the previous due to a different number of chromosomes.

Dwarf - Apis florea - smallest known, open nest

Giant or Rock - Apis dorsata - forage at night during moon-lit nights, vicious, open nests, largest, migratory

Oriental - Apis cerana - cavity dweller, absconding

Himalayan cliff - Apis laboriosa or Apis dorsata laboriosa - similar to dorsata