Western honey bee and Africa", making conservation of wild-bee diversity important. They further argue that the difficulty of controlling drones for mating is a serious handicap and a sign that domestication is not complete, in particular as "extensive gene flow usually occurs between wild/feral and managed honeybee populations". The honey bee is a colonial insect which is housed, transported by and sometimes fed by beekeepers. Honey bees do not survive and reproduce individually, but as part of the colony (a superorganism). Honey bees collect flower nectar and convert it to honey, which is stored in the hive. The nectar, transported in the bees'
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