Apis dorsata

Apis dorsata, the giant honey bee, is a honey bee of South and Southeast Asia, found mainly in forested areas such as the Terai of Nepal. They are typically around 17–20 mm (0.7–0.8 in) long. Nests are mainly built in exposed places far off the ground, like on tree limbs, under cliff overhangs, and sometimes on buildings. These social bees are known for their aggressive defense strategies and vicious behavior when disturbed. Indigenous peoples have traditionally used this species as a source of honey and beeswax, a practice known as honey hunting. Apis dorsata belongs to the family Apidae, which is in the class Insecta. This honeybee is most closely related to Apis mellifera, (the western honey bee) Apis cerana, and Apis florea. Apis dorsata belongs to the subgenus Megapis. There are a few hypotheses as to when Apis dorsata diverged from both Apis florea and Apis cerana, as it is unclear which divergence occurred first. Currently, the consensus hypothesis provides a family tree that claims that Apis dorsata diverged from both Apis cerana and Apis florea at the same time. Michael S. Engel identified the following subspecies: A. d. laboriosa is not distinct morphologically from the nominate subspecies but has different housekeeping and swarming behavior, allowing it to survive at high altitudes. In addition, little gene flow has occurred between A. dorsata and A. d. laboriosa for millions of years; accordingly, some argue it should be classified as a distinct species. Likewise, the southeastern taxon A. d. binghami seems also to be distinct. The limits of their ranges in Indochina and the possible distinctness of the geographically distant Philippines population require more study. However, the use of the taxonomic rank of 'subspecies' is typical for geographically discrete populations, so the difference in opinion here is whether or not to recognize the rank of subspecies or not (i.e., no one is disputing that they are distinct lineages, the dispute is over whether or not to call them 'species'). Apis dorsata differs from the other bees in its genus in terms of nest design. Each colony consists of a single vertical comb made of workers’ wax suspended from above, and the comb is typically covered by a dense mass of bees in several layers. The nests are mostly conical in shape and vary in size, reaching up to 1 meter in width. Each cell within the comb is hexagonal in shape. Apis dorsata store their honey in an upper corner of the nest. The same size and type of cells are used to rear larvae. Nests are constructed in the open and in elevated locations, such as on urban buildings or tall trees. These bees rarely build nests on old or weak buildings for safety concerns. Apis dorsata can form dense aggregations at one nesting site, sometimes with up to 200 colonies in one tree. Each colony can have up to 100,000 bees and is separated by only a few centimeters from the other colonies in an aggregation. Some colonies also exhibit patterns of nest recognition, in which they return to the same nesting sites post migration. Apis dorsata is found from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. The greatest populations of Apis dorsata are found in China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In the Philippines, which used to have one of the greatest populations of Apis dorsata, the populations have now become relatively rare due to deforestation and people's 'mindsets' towards the bees. They mostly reside in tall trees in dense forests, but also build nests on urban buildings. These bees are tropical and in most places, they migrate seasonally. Individual colonies migrate between nesting sites during the transition from the rainy to dry seasons and occupy each nesting site for about 3–4 months at a time. Some recent evidence indicates these bees return to the same nest site, though most, if not all, of the original workers might be replaced in the process because workers usually live for less than two months. Furthermore, these bees build small combs that serve as temporary nests during their long migrations. In Bornean rainforests, Apis koschevnikovi and Apis dorsata are the only honeybees that appear frequently at flowering canopy trees or baits. Even though they share most of the same rain forest habitat, they are still able to coexist. Their difference in size and tongue length help separate their resource use.