Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
Also known as European Honey Bee, Honningbie
One of the world's most important managed pollinators. Through pollination, the honey bee is linked to the reproduction of many wild plants and to the production of a large share of the crops people eat — connecting nature directly to the food system.
By pollinating crops and wild plants, the honey bee supports food production — and through it, part of the human food system.
How this species supports living systems
Functions → Services → RecipientsEach row is one complete path through the graph: the western honey bee performs a function, which supports a service, which benefits a recipient. Functions and services are shared nodes — tap one to see every species and system connected to it.
What is weakened, layer by layer, if this is lost. Each step is a node in the graph — the effect propagates downstream toward human relevance.
Identity
A social insect that lives in colonies of a queen and thousands of workers. It is both a wild species and the most widely managed pollinator on Earth.
Conservation
Data Deficient means there isn't enough data on wild populations for a full assessment. As a managed animal the honey bee is not at risk of extinction — but the health of colonies and the pollination they provide are under real pressure.
Distribution
Originally from the Old World, honey bees are now kept almost everywhere people farm.
Biology
- Lives in large cooperative colonies
- Communicates food locations via the 'waggle dance'
- Forages across wide areas for nectar and pollen
- Stores honey as a food reserve
A honey bee colony works as a single superorganism. While foraging for food, bees move pollen between flowers — which is the pollination other plants and crops rely on.
Ecological Intelligence
Mutualist = two species that benefit each other; bees get food while plants get pollinated. This links the honey bee to both wild plant reproduction and human food production.
Threats & Solutions
Threat → Category → DriverSome pesticides are associated with harm to bees even at sub-lethal doses.
The Varroa mite and associated diseases are a leading cause of colony losses.
Intensive single-crop farming reduces the varied flowers bees need across the season.
Shifting seasons can desynchronise bees from the flowering they depend on.
Cutting and better-targeting farm chemicals that harm pollinators.
Cutting and targeting harmful pesticides directly reduces exposure.
Restoring wildflowers, hedgerows and margins for pollinators to feed.
Restoring wildflowers and margins gives bees season-long forage.
Mixed crops and flowering plants instead of single-crop fields.
Mixed cropping rebuilds the varied food supply pollinators need.
Managing parasites and disease to keep colonies healthy.
Managing Varroa and disease keeps colonies viable.
Tracking populations so decisions are based on real data.
Tracking colony health and wild pollinators closes data gaps.
Cutting greenhouse-gas emissions — the only thing that addresses the root of sea-ice loss and climate pressures.
Limiting warming reduces disruption to flowering and foraging.
Importance Assessment
How much this species shapes its ecosystem.
How close the species is to disappearing.
Its significance to people and cultures.
How widely known the species is.
How much reliable data exists.
How relevant it is to 4PLANET missions.
KnownPollination supports a large share of food crops.
UnknownRelative weight of each driver (pesticides, forage loss, disease, climate) in decline.
Research gapsCombined-stressor effects · Wild vs managed pollinator dynamics
The western honey bee performs pollination, transferring pollen that fertilises many flowering plants.
Honey bee colonies depend on diverse floral resources and habitat for forage.
Honey bee health can be weakened by pesticide exposure, disease and habitat loss.
Connections
First layer of the knowledge graphSources
Source keys reference the bodies this profile draws on. Full citations will connect to a dedicated source database in a later version. No citations are fabricated.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
UN Food and Agriculture Organization