Asian Honey Bee (Apis cerana)

The Asian honey bee (Apis cerana, eastern honey bee) is the native honey bee of Asia, from Afghanistan to Japan and from the Russian Far East to Indonesia; compared with our honey bee, Apis mellifera, it is a separate species. It is the original host of the varroa mite: thanks to millions of years of co-evolution it lives in balance with the mite. Its defensive behaviours are today the main model for breeding varroa-resistant honey bees.

What is the Asian honey bee, and how does it differ from our honey bee?

Apis cerana and Apis mellifera belong to the same genus but are different species; they cannot interbreed and produce offspring. Like our honey bee, the Asian honey bee builds many parallel combs in dark cavities, so it can be kept in hives. In Asia it is the mainstay of traditional beekeeping in China, Japan, India, Nepal and South-east Asia.

Where does the Asian honey bee live? Its subspecies

It has spread over a very large area and differs markedly from region to region. Frequently cited subspecies and groups:

• A. c. cerana: Most of China and north-east Asia; kept in China as the "native bee".
• A. c. japonica: The native bee of Japan.
• A. c. indica: Southern India, Sri Lanka and the tropical parts of South-east Asia; smaller and yellowish.
• Himalayan group (A. c. himalaya etc.): In the mountain belt of the Himalayas; larger and darker (see Himalayan Honey Bees (Apis laboriosa and the Asian Honey Bee)).
• A. c. javana: Indonesia; the origin of the invasive population that reached Australia.

Co-evolution with varroa: how does it live in balance?

Varroa mites (Varroa jacobsoni and Varroa destructor) evolved together with the Asian honey bee. Over this long relationship the bee developed defences that make the mite harmless at colony level:

• The mite breeds only in drone brood: In the Asian honey bee, varroa can in practice reproduce only in drone brood; its reproduction in worker brood is very limited. Drone brood, in turn, is present only for a short part of the year.
• Entombing infested drone brood: Workers do not uncap drone cells containing many mites but leave them sealed; the mites die inside the cell together with the brood.
• Grooming (allogrooming): Bees remove mites from themselves and from each other very effectively, biting and damaging them.
• Hygienic behaviour: Workers recognise infested worker brood and remove it from the cell.
• The hole in the drone cell capping: The Asian honey bee's drone cells are covered with a hard, conical silk capping with a small hole in the middle; this is one of the species' distinguishing marks.

How did varroa get into our honey bee?

In the twentieth century the western honey bee was taken to regions where the Asian honey bee lives. When the two species lived side by side, the mite jumped to the new host. Only two genetic types of the Varroa destructor now found worldwide made this jump: the very harmful "Korean type", which has spread around the world, and the "Japanese type", found in a more limited area. The Japanese type jumped after the western bee was brought to Japan in the late 1950s.

The new host lacked these defences: the mite also reproduced in the western bee's worker brood, multiplied rapidly throughout the colony and spread viruses. This is the main reason why varroa is beekeeping's number one problem today.

Other traits of the Asian honey bee

• Heat-ball defence: When large hornets (Vespa) attack the nest, workers surround the hornet and, by shivering their flight muscles, raise the temperature inside the ball to about 46 °C. This heat and the carbon dioxide building up inside the ball kill the hornet, while the bees can survive it.
• No use of propolis: It does not collect propolis inside the hive; this makes it more vulnerable to wax moth.
• Absconding: In times of dearth, frequent disturbance, wax moth or disease, the colony readily abandons its nest and leaves.
• Foraging in the cool: Despite its small body, it can fly on cool mornings and in overcast weather.
• Nosema ceranae: The microsporidian Nosema ceranae, common in honey bees, was first described in this species and is named after it; it later spread to the western honey bee.

The threats it faces

• Thai sacbrood virus: Since the 1970s it has caused heavy losses in Asian honey bee colonies in South and South-east Asia.
• Competition with the western honey bee: Being more productive, the western bee is replacing the native bee; competition for forage and mating interference.
• Habitat loss and the decline of traditional beekeeping.

The invasive Asian honey bee

Outside its own range the Asian honey bee can be a pest. In Australia, a population of Indonesian origin detected in the city of Cairns in 2007 could not be eliminated despite intensive control, and in 2011 it was accepted that eradication was not possible. The concerns are competition for forage, robbing of western honey bee hives and the mites it may carry with it. This example shows the importance of biosecurity controls on the movement of live bees.

Lessons for beekeeping

The Asian honey bee is not a beekeeping alternative for Türkiye, and bringing it in is out of the question. But it is a living example of how resistance to varroa can arise:

1. Selection for hygienic behaviour and varroa-sensitive hygiene (VSH) was inspired by this species' behaviour.
2. Lines with strong grooming behaviour are among the traits sought in breeding programmes.
3. Biotechnical methods such as drone comb trapping exploit the mite's preference for drone brood.

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