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Apis mellifera capensis Escholtz (Cape honey bee)

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Apoidea; Family: Apidae; Subfamily: Apinae; Tribe: Apini; Genus: Apis; Species: mellifera)

Apis mellifera capensis Escholtz.

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa).

Apis_mellifera_Aloe_ferox_Jonathan_Ball

Foraging on and pollinating Aloe ferox at Sedgefield, 24th August 2012 (Photo © Jonathan Ball).

Apis_mellifera_Picker&Griffiths

Queen marked with 1. Photograph © Mike Picker & Charles Griffiths (University of Cape Town).

Distribution

South Africa (winter rainfall areas in the Western & Eastern Cape Provinces).

Apis_mellifera_Picker&Griffiths

Photograph © Mike Picker & Charles Griffiths (University of Cape Town).

Biology

 Social, constructing multiple wax combs for storage of pollen and honey and raising brood. Nests in existing cavities (the above image shows an exposed nest as a result of the branch breaking off the Oak tree). The Cape honey bee invades and takes over colonies of the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata.

References

Eardley, C & Urban, R. 2010. Catalogue of Afrotropical bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes). Zootaxa 2455: 1-548.

Eardley, C, Finnamore, A.T. & Michener, C.D. 1993. Superfamily Apoidea (pp. 279-357). In GOULET, H. & HUBER, J. (eds). Hymenoptera of the World: an identification guide to families. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, 668 pp.

Michener, C.D. 2000. The Bees of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press. 953 pp.

Picker, M., Griffiths, C & Weaving, A. 2002. Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.

Credits

Photographs © Simon van Noort (Iziko Museums of South Africa) or © Jonathan Ball or © Mike Picker & Charles Griffiths (University of Cape Town) (published in Struik's Field Guide to Insects of South Africa).

Web author Simon van Noort (Iziko South African Museum)

 

Citation: van Noort, S. 2024. WaspWeb: Hymenoptera of the World. URL: www.waspweb.org (accessed on <day/month/year>).

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