Adaptations
Branched body hairs collect pollen, a pollen basket on each hind leg carries it home, and a long mouthpart reaches nectar. Wax glands build reusable comb, while dance signals, odors, and vibration coordinate work inside a dark nest.
Behavior and daily life
Workers change tasks as they age, progressing through brood care, comb maintenance, guarding, and foraging. A colony regulates nest temperature collectively and can reproduce by swarming, when a queen departs with many workers to establish a new home.
Conservation
Current profile labelDomesticated and globally widespread; wild and managed colony health varies
Honey bee health is affected by Varroa mites, viruses, nutrition, pesticides, and management conditions. Supporting native flowering habitat benefits honey bees and many wild pollinators, but managed honey bees should not be used as a substitute for conserving native bee diversity.
A worker honey bee can communicate the direction and distance of a rich food source through movements known as the waggle dance.
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