Overview

The western honey bee is one of the world's most important pollinators and the only insect that produces food eaten by humans. A single colony may contain tens of thousands of workers, all daughters of one queen, visiting hundreds of thousands of flowers in a day.

Watch a lavender bush in summer and honey bees are rarely far away — methodical, furry, and laden with yellow pollen baskets on their hind legs. Their waggle dance communicates flower locations to nestmates inside the dark hive.

Habitat

Honey bees thrive wherever flowering plants bloom — gardens, meadows, orchards, and farmland across the UK, US, and much of the world. Wild colonies nest in tree cavities; managed hives are kept by beekeepers in gardens and apiaries.

Countries found

Interesting facts

01
A single bee colony may visit 225,000 flowers in one day.
02
Workers perform a waggle dance to tell nestmates where flowers are.
03
Honey bees are not native to the Americas — they were brought by colonists.

Conservation status

NT — Near Threatened

Managed honey bee colonies face global declines from varroa mites, pesticides, and habitat loss, though the species itself remains widespread. Colony collapse disorder has raised concern across agriculture.