Other Honey Bee Subspecies

Other honey bee subspecies are the honey bee subspecies beyond the best-known Anatolian, Caucasian, Carniolan and Italian bees, together with the other honey bee species of Asia. About thirty subspecies of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) have been described across Africa, Europe and Western Asia; most are local populations closely adapted to the climate of their own region. This page introduces them briefly, region by region, and sums up what they mean for the beekeeper.

How are honey bee subspecies grouped?

Researchers group the subspecies of the Western honey bee into four main lineages according to their origin. This grouping makes it easier to understand which bee is related to which:

• Lineage A (Africa): sub-Saharan and North African subspecies.
• Lineage M (Western and Northern Europe): the European dark bee (black bee) and the Iberian bee.
• Lineage C (Eastern Europe and the Balkans): the Carniolan, Italian, Macedonian and Greek bees.
• Lineage O (Middle East and Anatolia): the Anatolian, Caucasian, Syrian, Cyprus and Iranian bees.

A separate lineage has also been proposed for the bees of the Arabian Peninsula and the arid regions of East Africa.

Other honey bee subspecies of Europe and the Mediterranean

• Iberian bee (A. m. iberiensis): the native bee of Spain and Portugal. Dark in colour and adapted to hot, dry conditions; it can be defensive and collects plenty of propolis.
• Sicilian bee (A. m. siciliana): a dark island population unique to Sicily. It declined through hybridisation with the Italian bee and has become the focus of conservation work.
• Maltese bee (A. m. ruttneri): the small, dark native population of the Maltese islands; it is under pressure from hybridisation with imported bees.
• Macedonian bee (A. m. macedonica): found around northern Greece, North Macedonia and Bulgaria; close to the Carniolan group and adapted to harsh winters.
• Greek bee (A. m. cecropia): the native bee of southern Greece; generally described as calm.
• European dark bee (A. m. mellifera): the old native bee ranging from north of the Alps to Scandinavia and Russia; it has its own page in the library.

Honey bee subspecies of the Middle East and Asia

• Syrian bee (A. m. syriaca): the small, yellow-banded bee of the eastern Mediterranean. Very well adapted to heat and drought; highly defensive and prone to swarming.
• Cyprus bee (A. m. cypria): an island bee with orange-yellow bands; known for its defensiveness and its effective collective defence against hornets.
• Iranian bee (A. m. meda): found in Iran, Iraq and south-eastern Anatolia; yellowish in tone and adapted to a hot, dry climate.
• Yemeni bee (A. m. jemenitica): found in the arid belt of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; tolerant of extreme heat, it builds small colonies and tends to abandon the nest when forage runs out.
• Russian lines: lines selected from populations in the Russian Far East (Primorsky) that show tolerance to varroa. In Russia, Central Russian bees (of European dark bee origin) and bees of Caucasian origin are also kept.

Honey bee subspecies of Africa

Africa is the continent with the greatest diversity of honey bee subspecies. In general, African bees build up quickly, defend strongly, swarm often and abandon the nest when forage fails or they are disturbed (absconding).

• African honey bee (A. m. scutellata): the savanna bee of East and Southern Africa. The Africanized bee of the Americas arose after this subspecies was brought to Brazil in the 1950s.
• Cape bee (A. m. capensis): lives at the south-western tip of South Africa. Its workers can produce female (worker or queen) offspring from unfertilised eggs; because of this, it can cause problems when it enters colonies of other subspecies.
• West African bee (A. m. adansonii): the yellow-banded, highly defensive bee of West and Central Africa.
• North African bees: subspecies adapted to Mediterranean and desert-margin climates, such as the Egyptian bee (A. m. lamarckii) and the Tellian bee (A. m. intermissa).

Honey bee species other than the Western honey bee

Several other honey bee species, separate from the Western honey bee, live in Asia. These are not subspecies but distinct species, and they cannot mate and produce hybrids with the Western honey bee.

Why aren't these subspecies used outside their home regions?

• They are selected for the local climate: under other conditions they do not deliver the expected results.
• Behavioural problems: some show marked defensiveness, a strong tendency to swarm or to abscond.
• Legal restrictions: imports of live bees and queens require strict permits in most countries; in Türkiye they are regulated by the Beekeeping Regulation.
• Disease risk: bees brought from distant regions can also carry new pests and diseases.

The conservation value of local subspecies

Local subspecies are a gene pool holding traits such as varroa tolerance, resistance to heat and drought, and overwintering ability. Uncontrolled imports and crossbreeding dilute this diversity. That is why many countries run protected mating areas on islands and in mountain valleys, as well as pure-line breeding programmes. In Türkiye, the gene centre for the Caucasian bee in Artvin and Ardahan is a close example.