Western honey bee Western honey bee The western honey bee or European honey bee ("Apis mellifera") is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide. The genus name "Apis" is Latin for "bee", and "mellifera" is the Latin for "honey-bearing", referring to the species' production of honey. Like all honey bees, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers," and small proportion of fertile males or "drones." Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals, through both
Swarming (honey bee) of mites. Given young brood the bees have a second chance to raise a new queen if the first one fails. Beekeepers are sometimes called to capture swarms that are cast by feral honey bees or from the hives of domestic beekeepers. Most beekeepers will remove a honeybee swarm for a small fee or maybe even free if they are nearby. Usually a beekeeper or bee removal company will use a bee vacuum to capture the bees in a caged container so they can be transported to a new hive. This way is easy and if done with just the