The European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) was domesticated in modern times, and taken to North America in colonial times. These small, dark-colored honeybees, sometimes called the German black bee, have the reputation of stinging people (and other creatures) for no apparent reason. Some colonies are very "runny" on the comb and so excitable that beekeepers consider them difficult to work with. This characteristic is, however, not original to dark bee breeds, which was indeed known for its rather easy handling characteristics (though not as placid as the Carniolan honeybee, but a result of declined breeding standards. There are 3 main breeds, namely mellifera (brown bee), lehzeni (heathland bee) and nigra (black bee), which have local variants, such as the Pomeranian Brown or the Alps Black. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (walking sticks) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera... Suborders Apocrita Symphyta Many families, see article Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of Insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. ... Subfamilies Apinae - Honeybees Bombinae - Bumblebees Euglossinae - Orchid bees Meliponinae - Stingless bees Nomadinae Xylocopinae - Carpenter bees The Apidae are a large family of bees, comprising the common honeybees, stingless bees (which are also cultured for honey), carpenter bees, and bumblebees. ... Apis Species Categories: Stub | Insects ... Species A. mellifera — western honeybee A. cerana — eastern honeybee The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ... Trinomial nomenclature is a taxonomic naming system that extends the standard system of binomial nomenclature by adding a third taxon. ... A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné (   listen?), and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... Domesticated animals, plants, and other organisms are those whose collective behavior, life cycle, or physiology has been altered as a result of their breeding and living conditions being under human control for multiple generations. ... It has been suggested that Northern America be merged into this article or section. ... Species A. mellifera — western honeybee A. cerana — eastern honeybee The honeybee is a colonial insect that is often maintained, fed, and transported by farmers. ... A stinger is an organ or body part found in various animals that usually delivers some kind of venom. ... Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of one or more hives of honeybees. ... The Carniolan honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a sub-species of Western honeybee. ...

They can be distinguished from other subspecies by their stocky body, abundant thoracal and sparse abdominal hair which is brown and overall dark coloration; in nigra, there is also heavy dark pigmentation of the wings. Overall, when viewed from a distance, they should appear blackish, or in mellifera, rich dark brown. The aggressive feral hybrids with other subspecies can be distinguished by the lighter, yellowish banding on the sides of the abdomen, but this is often difficult. For breeding pure dark bees according to the standard, details of the wing veins are nowadays considered to be the only reliable distinguishing character. Template:In progress The human abdomen (from the Latin word meaning belly) is the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax. ...

Significance

Apis mellifera mellifera is no longer a significant commercial subspecies of honeybee, but there are a number of dedicated hobbyist beekeepers that keep these bees in Europe and other parts of the world. Immigrants brought these subspecies into the Americas. Prior to their arrival, the american continent did not have any honeybees. The honeybee is non-native to America. Hybrid descendants of the original colonial black bees may also have survived in North America as feral bees. There are reports by beekeepers that, after the arrival of the Varroa mite on the american continent in 1987, some feral bee colonies survived. The original form is not present in North America anymore. Common diseases, parasites, pests, and ailments of the honeybee include: Varroa mite Acarine mites, formerly known as Tracheal mites American foulbrood (AFB) European foulbrood (EFB) Chalkbrood Nosema Small hive beetle Wax moths Chilled brood Stonebrood Kashmir Bee Virus (KBV) Black Queen-Cell Virus (BQCV) (often concommitant with Nosema) Pesticide losses... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In Central Europe, notably the German-speaking region, where dark bee breeds were originally kept and the different breeds took shape. However, the breeding stock was nearly destroyed by order of the Nazis, who considered the honey yields not up to modern standards and wanted to "improve" the bee stocks kept in Central Europe. This led to the creation of more aggressive, high-yield breeds, which, however, were very susceptible to Varroa mite infection and unpleasant to handle and were dropped from use after World War II, but just as in North america, some freal colonies survive. Dedicated breeders and research facilities are today working on preserving and spreading what could be saved from the original stocks. There are only a handful of colonies present in Germany, but larger numbers have survived in Norway (lehzeni), the Alps (nigra) and Poland, Belgium and the Alps (mellifera). The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ...

External links

• European dark bee