European dark bee

This is a dark bee.

It is dark brown or black. It has a thick body. These bees can be a bit grumpy. We must be careful with them.

These bees live in many lands. Some live in Europe. Others live in North America. They moved to new places long ago.

They have very short tongues. This makes it hard to get food from deep flowers. They are also quite large.

Some people try to help them. They want to keep these bees safe. It is good to protect them.

The European dark bee is a special kind of honey bee.

These bees have dark brown or black bodies. They are large and stocky. They also have very short tongues. This makes it hard to reach nectar in deep flowers. These bees can be quite grumpy. Beekeepers say they are often aggressive. This means they may act angry when people check their hives.

These bees have a long history. They likely started in central Asia. Later, they moved into Europe after the last ice age. Some bees even moved to North America a long time ago. In the past, Native Americans called them the "English Fly."

Today, many people want to protect them. Some bees are now endangered in Germany. In places like Ireland, many bees are still pure. This means they have the right DNA, or the tiny instructions that make them who they are. Some groups work hard to keep these bees safe from other kinds. They want to make sure the dark bee does not disappear.

The European dark bee is a special type of honey bee. Its scientific name is Apis mellifera mellifera.

These bees are very important to history and nature. They belong to a group called the 'M' lineage. This group includes bees found in western China too. Many people call them by names based on where they live. You might hear them called the British black bee or the Nordic brown bee. Even though they have different names, they are mostly the same subspecies.

These bees have a very specific way they look. They have stocky bodies that appear dark brown or black. They have lots of hair on their middle section. Their abdomen has much less hair. On a scale from 0 to 9, they score a 2.1 for darkness. This means they are much darker than other bees. They are also quite large for honey bees. However, they have unusually short tongues that measure only 5.7 to 6.4mm. This short tongue can make it hard to reach nectar in deep flowers.

Learning about these bees involves looking at their long journey. They likely evolved in central Asia near the Tien Shan Mountains. After the last ice age, they moved into Europe starting around 9,000 BC. Their range once stretched from the Ural Mountains to the Pyrenees. In 1622, hives were brought to North America during the colonial era. Native Americans even gave them a new name: the English Fly.

Beekeepers have many different feelings about these bees. They are known for being quite nervous and aggressive. This can make checking their hives a much slower job. A large survey of 621 colonies found they have a high tendency to swarm. They also have lower hygienic behavior than other bees. This makes it harder for them to fight off Varroa mites. However, they have one amazing trait. Their queens do not easily mate with bees from other subspecies. Research in Poland and Ireland has confirmed this special habit.

Today, many groups work hard to protect these bees. In Germany, the dark bee is now considered endangered. This happened after other bee types were brought in. Some places have very strict rules to help them. For example, the Isle of Man made it illegal to import other bees. They want to keep their local dark bees safe from pests. On the island of Læsø in Denmark, you can only keep this specific bee.

These efforts help keep the history of the dark bee alive.

The European dark bee, known scientifically as Apis mellifera mellifera, is a specific subspecies of the western honey bee. It belongs to the 'M' lineage of honey bees, which also includes bees found in western China. This bee is highly significant to both natural history and modern beekeeping. It played a major role in European ecosystems for thousands of years. Today, it is often the subject of intense conservation efforts. Many people call it by names based on where it lives. You might hear it called the British black bee or the Nordic brown bee.

The history of this bee is a story of long migrations. Scientists believe these bees evolved in central Asia near the Tien Shan Mountains. After the last ice age, they began moving into Europe around 9,000 BC. Their original range was very large. It stretched from the southern Urals in Russia down to the Pyrenees. In 1622, hives were brought to North America during the colonial era. Native Americans encountered these bees and called them the "English Fly." By the 1800s, they were well-established across northwestern Europe.

Physically, the A. m. mellifera has very distinct features. They have stocky bodies and a dark coloration. From a distance, they look black or a rich dark brown. They have abundant hair on their thorax, which is the middle section of the body. However, they have sparse hair on their abdomen. On a pigmentation scale from 0 to 9, they score a 2.1. This makes them much darker than the A. m. ligustica, which scores a 7.8. They are also large for honey bees. Despite their size, they have unusually short tongues, measuring only 5.7 to 6.4mm.

Beekeepers often note specific behaviors and traits in this subspecies. These bees are known for being nervous and aggressive. A survey of 621 colonies found they have a high tendency to swarm. They also show lower hygienic behavior. This trait is closely linked to how they handle Varroa mites. Because they are aggressive, routine hive inspections can take much longer. They are also less prolific and build up their populations later in the year. This means they cannot always take advantage of very early spring nectar flows. However, they have a unique benefit regarding reproduction.

One of the most remarkable traits is how their queens mate. Research in Poland and Ireland has shown that A. m. mellifera queens do not readily hybridize. This means they do not easily mate with drones from other subspecies. In Poland, research confirmed that queens were fathered almost exclusively by their own kind. This was also seen in western Ireland on the Beara peninsula. The queens did not mate with A. m. carnica or Buckfast drones. This characteristic helps maintain the genetic purity of the subspecies. It is a rare trait among honey bees.

The history of this bee in Germany is quite complex. In 1937, the Nazi government implemented policies to protect the bee. They used the ideology of "Blood and Soil" to promote the native dark bee. They banned many bee imports and regulated breeding. They even used harsh language to describe "foreign" bees. However, between 1940 and 1942, a massive epidemic occurred. A disease called Nosema apis caused huge colony deaths. This epidemic eventually led to the lifting of breeding restrictions.

After the war, beekeeping in Germany changed focus. Breeders began choosing bees based on performance rather than ideology. They decided to keep the A. m. carnica bee because of its superior traits. As a result, the A. m. mellifera is now considered endangered in Germany. Today, many groups work to protect local strains. On the Isle of Man, it is illegal to import other bees. They use inspections to eliminate foreign strains.

On the island of Læsø in Denmark, only this bee is allowed. These rules help ensure the survival of this unique lineage.