Apis cerana indica
Apis cerana indica, the Indian honey bee, is a subspecies of Asiatic honey bee. It is one of the predominant bees found and domesticated in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and mainland Asia. Relatively non-aggressive and rarely exhibiting swarming behavior, it is ideal for beekeeping.
| Apis cerana indica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Apis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | A. c. indica |
| Trinomial name | |
| Apis cerana indica (Fabricius, 1798) | |
It is similar to the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), which tends to be slightly larger and can be readily distinguished.
They usually build multiple combed nests in tree hollows and man-made structures. These bees can adapt to living in purpose-made hives and cavities. Their nesting habit means that they can potentially colonize temperate or mountain areas with prolonged winters or cold temperatures. Colonies contain only a few thousand workers, compared to the 50,000 typical of European honey bees.
It is one of the important pollinators for coconut palms; the other species are Apis florea, Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera (the European bee).[1]
References
- P.K. Thampan. 1981. Handbook on Coconut Palm. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co.
- Benjamin P. Oldroyd and Siriwat Wongsiri. Asian Honey Bees (Biology, Conservation, and Human Interactions). 2006: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England.
- Tautz, J and M. Lindauer. 1997. "Honeybees establish specific nest sites on the comb for their waggle dances". Journal of Comparative Physiology 180:537-539.