Types of Bees in India

Dear friends in India there is 4 types of bees in the different parts of the areas. They belongs to different types of family. Some were easy to harvest honey but some are very difficult to harvest. They are different by their behaviour and their attitude. You can also watch our video above to know more about varieties in India.

  • Apis Dorsata (Rock Bee)
  • Apis Cerana (Indian Bee)
  • Apis Florea (Little Bee)
  • Apis Mellifera (Italian Bee)

ROCK BEE (APIS DORSATA)

  1. Wild in nature
  2. Furious in temperament
  3. Make single comb on trees, high buildings and on water tanks
  4. Average yield 30-35 kg/ colony / year
  5. Worker and Drone cells are of same size
  6. Having long foraging range
  7. Efficient pollinator of a large varieties of crop plants.

INDIAN HONEYBEE (APIS CERANA)

  1. Gentle in temperament, domesticated and make parallel combs in semi dark places
  2. Combs in wall hives, holes of trees, deserted buildings and in caves
  3. In their defence they produce sounds like snake and on frequent examination they abscond the comb
  4. High tendency of swarming and absconding instinct
  5. Suitable for hilly regions and southern state of India
  6. Average honey yield in 8-10 kg/ colony/ year
  7. Susceptible to viral disease
  8. Due to poor propolis, attack of wax moth is common in this species
  9. Strong defence mechanism against natural enemies
  10. Many eco-types of this species are available in India i.e. hill race and plain race.

LITTLE HONEYBEE: APIS FLOREA FAB

  1. Wild in nature
  2. Make single comb in bushes
  3. Gentle in temperament and frequent disturbance may cause absconding
  4. Average honey yield 200-900 g / colony / year
  5. Very efficient pollinator of small and conspicuous flowers

ITALIAN HONEYBEE: APIS MELLIFERA

  1. Introduced in India in 1960 from Western countries
  2. Gentle in temperament and industrious by nature
  3. Less swarming and absconding instinct
  4. Very good pollinator of majority crop plants in Northern plain.
  5. Poor in defence mechanism against natural enemies
  6. Average yield 10-15 kg/ colony/ year on stationary beekeeping and 30 – 35 kg/ colony/ year under migratory beekeeping.