Western honey bee "Apis mellifera" is thought to have originated in Europe, Asia, and Africa. 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
Maltese honey bee Maltese honey bee The Maltese honey bee, "Apis mellifera ruttneri", is a sub-species of the Western honey bee. It originates from Malta, where it is native. The bee is a sub-species of the Western honey bee that has naturalized and adapted to the environment of the Maltese Islands. It evolved as a different sub-species when the Maltese islands were cut off from mainland Europe. The Maltese bee likely contributed to the islands name as the ancient Greeks called the island ("Melitē") meaning "honey-sweet". The bee is of relatively black colour. It is well adapted for high temperatures and dry summers