Famous for its honey produce and its pollinating function this bee is the most distributed around the world. It has been domesticated by man and there are now more than 30 races. It is native to Europe, Africa and part of Asia. So, no matter how beneficial it may be, it is still an exotic animal among us.
The colonies are formed with a queen, workers and drones. All of them originate from the same type of egg. The food provided to the egg marks the difference. If an egg is fed on royal jelly, a queen will emerge. If it is fed on pollen, a worker will. The queen is bigger than workers and never leaves the hive unless it will swarm. The workers perform different tasks. One of them is to collect nectar, pollen and water. The bees suck nectar and store it in their crops to take it to the hive, whereas pollen is carried in special baskets named corbicles which are at the rear legs. The drone is the male element of the colony and its function is to find a queen to mate during nuptial flights. They are bigger than workers, have larger eyes almost surrounding their head and have no stinger.