#3503 · 🐝 bees, wasps & ants

Western Honey Bee

🇳🇱 Europese honingbij ·Apis mellifera

DDdata deficient 🐝 Bees, wasps & ants 📍 in the Netherlands

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Lê Thanh Hoa · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © jim · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © bramblejungle · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © bramblejungle · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © 彭元岐 · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Ryszard · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © 彭元岐 · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © 彭元岐 · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. © Juan Piza Cordova · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. © Eduardo Prieto Ochoa · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

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 for the winter.

base stats

NL sightings 3,182iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 754,313iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 3,182 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #1 most seen of the bees, wasps & ants in NL.
754,313 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).