Classification of bees

First, the classification status of bees

Taxonomically, bees belong to Arthropoda, Insecta, Hymenoptera, Agonioidea, Acanthoidea, Apiidae, Apiinae, Apiidae, Apiidae, Apiidae and Apiidae.

In biological characteristics, the genus Apis is engaged in social life, can secrete wax to build nests, and the nests and spleen develop vertically from top to bottom. There are hexagonal honeycomb cells on both sides of the genus Apis, with a side of * * * and a bottom of * *; Honey powder is very active in collection, brewing and storage.

Second, the species of bees.

1758, Linnaeus c recorded the first genus (Apis) and the first species (APIs mellifera L.) of bees for the first time.

By 1980, there were only four kinds of bees recognized in the world at that time, namely, the multi-backed bee, the small flower bee, the Chinese bee and the Italian bee, due to the limitation of the collection of specimens at that time and the lack of evidence of some new species of bees.

During the period of 1985, Chinese scholars made a comparative study on the morphology, biology, ecology, insect geography, cytogenetics and molecular biochemistry of six kinds of bees collected from Yunnan, and reached the conclusion that laboriosa Smith and Apis andreniformis Smith were independent bee species, and determined their taxonomic status.

1988, foreign scholars identified the Indian bee (Apis indica-koschevnikovi bee) described and named by Buttel-Reepen 1903 as an independent bee species-Apis koschevnikovi Buttel-Reepen.

So far, seven kinds of bees have been established in the world.

At present, the seven clear living species of the genus Apis are recognized (in naming order):

Apis italica 1758

Bee flower stinkbug 1787

Bee with multiple backs 1793

China bee 1793

Black bee a.andreniformis Smith1858

Black bee a.laboriosa Smith1871

Saba bee a . koschevnikovi butter-reepen 1906

(Living species: refers to species that have appeared in the history of the earth, found fossils, and survived to this day)

During 1998, Koeniger and Koeniger in Germany and Tingek in Malaysia reported the discovery of a new bee species-Apis Nulunsis Tingek. Koenig and Koenig.

In the same year, after years of comparative study in morphology and biology, G.W.0tis and S.Hadisosillo established Apis nigrocincta (Smith), which was originally named by Smith and distributed in Sulawesi, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is an independent bee species.

So far, there are 9 kinds of bees living in the world.

(1) APIs and dosage forms

(2) Apis parviflora

(3) bees.

(4) Oriental bees

(5)Apis koschevnikvi Buttel-re epen

(6) Arctic bees. Koenig and Koenig.

(7) Black bee, a Sulawesi bee.

(8) Chinese bees

(9) Italian bees

Three. Brief introduction of 9 kinds of bees

1. Bee, 1787

This species is a small species in the genus Apis (figure 1- 1), which often nests in grass or bushes, so Yunnan is commonly known as the small grass bee.

Distribution: South Asia and Southeast Asia, with northern Oman and southern Iran as the western borders.

In China, it is distributed in the vast area south of Yunnan latitude 26 40', as well as Longzhou and Shangsi in southern Guangxi.

Body length: worker bee 7 ~ 8 mm; Queen bee13 ~15 mm; Uav11~13 mm.

Body color: worker bee black, abdominal node 1 ~ 2 backboard reddish brown; Queen bee, abdominal 1 ~ 2 rebounds, the base half of the third rebound and the end edges of the third to fifth rebounds are all reddish brown, and the rest are black.

Biological habit: Burt bees inhabit areas below 1 0,900 meters above sea level, with an annual average temperature of 15 ~ 22℃.

Often nest in grass or bushes, and the environment is very hidden.

Build a single nest spleen, with a width of15 ~ 35cm, a height of15 ~ 27cm and a thickness of16 ~19.6mm. The upper part forms a nearly spherical nest top, which wraps the trunk into a honey storage area, and the middle and lower parts are insect breeding areas. The differentiation of the three types of nests is obvious, and the worker hive is located in the middle. The unmanned machine room is located at the lower part or both sides, with a diameter of 4.2~4.8 mm and a depth of 8.9 ~12.0 mm; Watchtowers are mostly built on the lower edge, with a length of 13.5 ~ 14.0 mm and a bottom width of 8.5 ~10.0 mm.

The construction sequence of type 3 hive is obvious, that is, the worker hive is built to store honey, powder, lay eggs and feed insects until the situation of bee colony develops to a certain extent, then the drone hive is built to cultivate drones, and finally the queen bee is built to prepare for the distribution of bees (Figure 1-2).

In southern Yunnan, bees usually start spawning in February and reach the peak in April-May. Spleen area can reach 600cm2, and colony potential can reach tens of thousands.

From June to August, the temperature is high, the honey source is scarce, and the queen bee lays fewer eggs.

September ~ 165438+ 10 is the second breeding period.

From February 65438 to the following year 10, the breeding stopped when the temperature was low.

At the end of February and the beginning of March, the cultivation of drones began, reaching 1/4 of the insect breeding area at most.

The individual development duration of worker bees is 20.5 d, that of male bees is 22.5 d, and that of queen bees is16.5 d.

The bee sorting period is mostly in March-April, and it can also occur in September-65438+10.

Generally 3 ~ 13 platforms, with a maximum of 20 platforms.

When the temperature is 18 ~ 42℃, the central temperature of insect breeding area is 33 ~ 38℃.

In Sri Lanka, it is found that the males of Saba bees, Apis orientalis, Apis italica and Apis italica in the same area have different mating and flight times.

Bees fly in marriage16 ∶15 ~17 ∶15.

This may be the result of natural selection to avoid intermarriage interference between different species.

Seasonal changes and the lack of honey sources often lead to the migration of the whole population, from the plain to the mountainous areas.

Attacks by enemies such as wax moths or ants often lead to the whole group abandoning its nest and flying away.

Changes in temperature will lead to changes in nesting sites.

When summer comes, the little bees will move to the shade or the depths of the cave; When the temperature is low, the hive moves to the south of the tree or the outer end of the cave.

In Iran, it is observed that bees nest on branches in the east-west direction in winter, and the long axis of the nest spleen is in the north-south direction in summer to reduce the sunny area of the nest spleen.

Spleen has strong protection, and there are often more than three layers of worker bees crawling on the nest spleen.

When the storm strikes, a dense bee colony is formed to protect the nest and spleen.

When honey is abundant, sex is gentle.

When the honey source is exhausted, it is fierce. When it touches the nest and spleen a little, 20 ~ 30 worker bees fly in groups and sting people.

Each group can get 1 kg honey on average every year.

4. Raw materials and dosage forms, 1858.

As the name implies, this species is a small and black one in the genus Apis (Figure 1-3).

It is distributed in South Asia and Southeast Asia, and is found in tropical areas south of the Tropic of Cancer, such as Jinghong, Xishuangbanna Mengla, southern Yunnan Province, Lincang Cangyuan and Gengma.

Body length: worker bee 7 ~ 8 mm; Queen bee12 ~14 mm; Uav10 ~11mm.

Body color: worker bee, chestnut black, sometimes reddish brown at the end edge of 1 abdominal dorsal plate and the base of 2 abdominal dorsal plates; Queen bee, black body, the end edge of the first ventral dorsal plate and the base of the second to third abdominal nodes are sometimes reddish brown; Drone, black.

Black bees usually nest in small trees with single nest and spleen on the secondary unfamiliar tree slope below the altitude of 1 000 m, generally 2.5~3.5 m from the ground.

The nest spleen is fixed on the branches, which is nearly round, and the upper part forms a thick nest top, which wraps the branches inside, and the lower part is pointed, with a total area of nearly 177 ~ 334cm2, similar to that of bees.

Black bees are very sensitive to temperature. When the temperature rises to 15℃, it begins to move. When the temperature is above 20℃, attendance is positive.

The daily attendance peak is 1 1 to 17.

Black bee worker bees have a strong ability to protect the spleen, and even when they are busy collecting, they never let the nest spleen.

When the storm or the scorching sun is in the sky, worker bees climb each other, layer upon layer, and enclose the nest and spleen.

Sexual alertness is very strong. When people approach, the guard bees under the nest spleen will be vigilant. If they touch their nest, they will fly 30 ~ 40 meters away.

When taking honey, use smoke to drive away bees, and the spleen is cut off. Each group produces about 0.5 kg of honey at a time, which can be harvested 2 ~ 3 times a year depending on the season of honey source.

Black bees are small and flexible, and they are important pollinators of tropical cash crops.

3. Bees with multiple backs, 1793.

This species is a large species in the genus Apis (figure 1-4), with one spleen in rows, commonly known as driving bees.

Distributed in South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, South Yunnan, South Guangxi and Hainan.

The species of Italian bees can be divided into three subspecies. In addition to the named subspecies A. d. dorsata, there are also subspecies A.d.breviligula distributed in the Philippines and A.d.binghami distributed in Sulawesi (Celebes Island).

The abdomen of Apis microphylla is darker, and the abdomen of Apis ice is lighter yellow.

The length of worker bees is 16 ~ 17 mm; The head and chest are black; The backboard of abdominal segment 1 ~ 2 is orange, the rest is brown, and there are obvious silvery white villous bands at the base of 2 ~ 5 backboards.

With the abundance of honey sources and the forcing of seasonal climate, big bees have mobile migration behavior.

In southern Yunnan, single nests and spleens are usually built under the transverse trunks or hanging rocks of tall broad-leaved trees from May to August, and then moved to low-altitude valleys and basins after September to nest in dense bushes for the winter.

In the environment of warm seasons and rich honey sources, there are also cases of perennial settlement.

So the migration of big bees is only an adaptation to the environment, not an inevitable habit.

Beehives are often more than ten meters from the ground, and sometimes several groups or even dozens of groups live next to each other, forming a huge community. Obviously, this has a deterrent effect on the enemy.

Big bees need constant water supply to raise insects or cool down, so the nesting place must be close to the water source.

Spleen sleeve is about 0.5 ~ 1.0 m long and 0.3~0.7 m wide.

The middle and lower part of the nest spleen is the breeding area, and the daughter spleen can have 70 thousand nests with a nest thickness of 35mm；; The upper part and both sides are honey powder areas, and the thickness can reach100 mm.

Wangtai is located at the lower edge of the nest spleen.

As confirmed by the author, there is no difference between the unmanned computer room and the workers' room.

The ratio of the number of drones to worker bees in the bee season can reach 1∶3.

4.Apis laboriosa Smith， 187 1。

As the name implies, this species is black and large in the genus Apis, and it is the largest species (Figure 1-5).

Because the main producing area is under the snow-capped mountains around the Himalayas, it is also known as Yima Bee, Snow Mountain Bee and Rock Bee.

Distribution: It is distributed in Himalayas, Hengduan Mountains, Nujiang River and Lancang River Basin, including southern China, western and southern Yunnan, Nepal, Bhutan and northeastern India.

Body length of worker bees: 17 ~ 18 mm, black; There are obvious silvery white villous bands at the base of the second to fifth backboard in the abdomen. The chest, small shield and the first abdominal segment are covered with yellow-brown hair.

The front wings are smoky brown.

They often live under cliffs at an altitude of 1000 ~ 3500m, and have the habit of migrating with the seasons. They migrate to warm areas at low altitudes in winter and to cool areas at high mountains in summer.

A single nest of spleen is attached to the hanging rock, more than ten meters from the ground, making it difficult for the enemy to get close.

A constant population or even more than ten groups of adjacent nests form a community.

The momentum is so great that the enemy dare not approach.

Spleen sleeve is 0.8 ~ 1.5 m long and 0.5 ~ 0.95 m wide.

The new spleen is pure white, and the old spleen is yellowish brown. The base is a honey powder area with a thickness of 100 mm, and the middle and lower part is a culture area with a thickness of 35 mm

The pure honey area inclines to the top of the base, showing an inverted triangle.

According to Kuang Bangyu, He and Li Shaowen, there are 20 groups of black bees in the rocks of Yanfeng Village of Lisu people in Nujiang Gorge, Yunnan Province. Li Zami, an old man of Lahu nationality in Cizhuhe Township, Zhutang District, Lancang County, has been raising bees and stones for decades. The rock is calcareous, with an altitude of 2000m, and there are more than 20 groups of black bees nesting all the year round, all of which are very spectacular.

Dr. Shoichi Sakamoto of Japan believes that black bees show strong adaptability on high mountains, and can be collected on flowers at an altitude of about 4 100 m, which is often found only by bumblebees.

It is probably impossible for them to nest at a very high altitude, but they can be collected at different altitudes above and below the nesting site.

Big black bees can fly at temperatures that are not suitable for other bees.

Every year in late autumn and early winter, each bee colony can hunt 20 ~ 40kg of honey and a batch of beeswax, which is a wild bee resource with great economic value.

5.Saba bee Apis koschevnikovi Buttel-Reepen， 1906。

This species is one of the medium-sized bees (figure 1-6).

Distributed in Sabah, Malaysia.

Sabah bees are similar to oriental bees in morphology and living habits, but smaller than Indian bees in oriental bees.

A little bigger.

The body color of the worker bee is copper, and there is a broad and bright silver-white villous band at the base of the abdominal 1 ~ 6 backboard, which is obviously visible when the honey sucking abdomen expands. Build a nest in a hole and build a spleen.

The bee breeding center of Sabah Dannan Cocoa Research Institute tried to raise Sabah bees with coconut tubes and live beehives.

The flight time of Sabah Bee UAV is16 ∶ 30 ~18 ∶15.

The pterygoid vein of Vespa Saba was abnormal, and the elbow vein index was large and varied greatly, with an average value of 7.45 3.04 and a range of 3.53 ~ 24.74.

The third cubital chamber is distorted by the significantly shortened M pulse.

After the drone, the posterior margin of tibia and fibula has a tassel and thick hair.

Chinese bee, 1793.

This species is one of the medium-sized bees (figure 1-7).

Origin in the east, referred to as the East Bee.

Distribution: Asia, including China, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, East Timor, Philippines, Japan, North Korea and Russian Far East, living in tropical, subtropical and temperate climate zones.

The queen bee is black and brown.

The drone is black.

The length of worker bees is 9.5 ~ 13.0 mm; The beak length is 3.0~5.6 mm; ; The front wing is 7.0~9.0 mm long, and the midrib of the rear wing is bifurcated; There are triangular spots at the base of the lip; The body color changes greatly, and the tropical and subtropical varieties are mainly yellow in the abdomen, and the varieties in alpine or temperate regions are mainly black.

Oriental bees are now in the wild, semi-wild or domestic state.

In nature, bees inhabit hidden places such as tree holes and caves to restore the spleen.

The nest room of drone larvae has two layers of protruding covers, the inner cover is as sharp as a hat, and there is a hole in the center, which exposes the inner cover when the pupa matures.

When worker bees fan the wind at the nest mouth, their heads are outward, which plays the role of blower.

The acquisition radius is 1, 0,000 ~ 2,000.

Maintain the population potential of 1 ~ 3 kg (about1.5 ~ 35,000 worker bees).

Strong ability to divide bees, 7 ~ 15 queen's platform will be built in the period of dividing bees.

When the survival is threatened, it is easy for the whole group to abandon their nests and migrate.

The resistance to wax moth is weak; Susceptible to cystic larval disease and European larval disease; Anti-American larval disease and chalk disease.

Apis orientalis is the original host of wasp mites, but it has anti-mite ability (big and small bee mites), flexible flight and good at avoiding wasps.

Lay eggs in moderation to save consumption.

Individuals have strong cold tolerance and adapt to the use of honey sources in southern winter.

The Italian bee, 1758.

This species is of medium size in the genus Apis (fig. 1-8), and it is native to the west, referred to as western bee for short.

This species is native to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Due to the carrying and business exchanges of European immigrants, they are spread all over the world except Antarctica and become the main bee species in many countries and regions.

Distribution: widely distributed, forming many geographical subspecies, with great differences in morphology and living habits.

Generally speaking, type 3 bees have obvious differentiation; The length of worker bees is 12 ~ 14 mm, and there is no villous area on the back plate of the sixth abdominal segment. The midrib of the hind wing is not bifurcated; Lip base is the same color; The front wing is 8.0~9.5 mm long; ; The beak is 5.5~7.2 mm long.

Western bees are now in the wild, semi-wild or domestic state.

In nature, bees live in caves and build spleens.

When the worker bees fan the wind at the nest mouth, their heads are inward, which plays the role of air extractor; The unmanned machine room is protruded and covered flat; It has the property of removing glue.

Bees. Niger river basin and Niger river basin 1998.

Distribution: Only found in Mount Lunu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Morphological characteristics: worker bees are 10 ~ 1 1 mm long, and their body color is dark, mostly dark black. It is also called "black bee" locally, and its distinctive feature is that its hind legs are brown from the base joint to the end of the tarsal joint.

Biological characteristics: Living in mountainous areas above 1700 m above sea level, burrowing, and building compound spleen hives in tree holes. When the wasp approaches the nest mouth, the abdomen of the guard bee is lifted, and the smelly glands are exposed, while the oriental bee does not expose the smelly glands.

The wedding flight time is from 10: 44 am to 13: 12, and the peak time is at noon 12: 00.

The weight of the drone is 107. 1 mg, and the number of * * * in the seminal vesicle is10.3 million.

Economic value: it can be domesticated as a bee species and is also one of the local pollinators.

(9) African bee 187 1

Distribution: Indonesia and Sulawesi Islands in the Philippines.

Worker bees are slightly larger than the local oriental bees, with slightly yellow lips and feet. Worker bees are about 1 1mm long and lighter in color than oriental bees. Through comprehensive morphological analysis, there is a significant difference between them.

There are no cocoons like oriental bees in the cover of the unmanned machine room, and there are no small holes like oriental bees in the cover.

The marriage flight time is14 ∶15 ~17 ∶ 30.

According to the research of M.S.Darmus and G.w.Otis, bees can be divided into two subspecies, namely, Apis N. Niger distributed in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Apis n. Philippina distributed in the Philippines, which was originally named Apis cerana philippina.

Biological characteristics: burrowing, producing compound spleen, and other biological characteristics are similar to those of oriental bees.

Economic value: it has been partially domesticated as a bee seed, which can be used to make honey and is one of the local pollinators.

Four, the subspecies of Apis orientalis

The concept of bee species

Generally speaking, bee species actually refers to subspecies of the same kind of bees distributed in different geographical areas. Because of geographical isolation and long-term natural selection, they are also called geographical races, natural races or native races.

For example, the so-called China bees and Indian bees are different subspecies or geographical varieties planted by Oriental bees.

It can be seen that the meaning of the word "variety" on bees is different from that of other domestic animals.

Among pigs, sheep, cows or chickens, ducks, geese and other livestock and poultry, breeds are the products of targeted and planned selection and breeding by human beings; The geographical diversity of bees is the result of natural selection of origin.

The evolution of bee species has a history of at least 23 million years, from bees to modern bees. However, Homo sapiens only evolved from Homo erectus, who lived in Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago and had a small brain.

Because, in the evolution of species, bees are much older than humans, and they feed their larvae with royal jelly, a regenerative nutrient, with little difference; Moreover, bees must mate in the vast air, and it is difficult for humans to control their mating behavior. Therefore, their types of existence are rarely influenced by human beings in the process of development.

This is the basic difference between bees and other domestic animals.

Although the geographical varieties of bees can adapt to the environmental conditions of producing areas, they often do not meet the economic requirements of beekeeping industry.

Therefore, it is necessary to carry out artificial transformation. In a sense, the existing geographical varieties are still the original materials for breeding.

We must fully note that there are significant differences among bees of different geographical species, representing different genetic types and adapting to different environments.

Even within a geographical variety, there are different ecological types that adapt to special environmental conditions (climate, honey source, diseases and enemies, etc.). ).

For example, Chinese bee subspecies can be divided into south China ecotype and north China ecotype.

Therefore, no matter what introduction or breeding scheme is adopted, we must pay full attention to genetic variation to ensure the best effect.

In order to preserve these valuable breeding materials, many countries have taken various measures to establish a bee gene bank.

It is very important to know more about the geographical and ecological types of bees.

The morphological characteristics of bees are the basis of distinguishing varieties.

The early beekeeping industry almost only used body color characteristics to identify bee species.

However, in practical application, it is found that the body color of some different varieties is very similar; The body color of the same variety is also very different.

Therefore, it is not perfect to identify varieties only by this feature.

At present, the morphological characteristics used to identify bee varieties include body shape, body color, wing vein, fluff, kiss length and so on, which are clearly distinguished by biometric methods.

A subspecies of Apis orientalis.

Oriental bees are divided into six subspecies, namely, Oriental bees, Indian bees, Japanese bees and Himalayan bees. Aba subspecies and Hainan subspecies, their distribution is shown in Figure 1-9.

A China bee B Indian bee C Japanese bee D Himalayan bee E Aba subspecies F Hainan subspecies

(1) Apis cerana cerana subsp. China

It is a named subspecies, referred to as Chinese bee (figure 1- 10).

Originated in China.

It is distributed in vast areas except Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and western Qinghai, with the southwest, central China and southern China being the most.

Oriental bees from the Russian Far East, the Korean Peninsula and northern Vietnam also belong to this subspecies, and Lutni also belongs to oriental bees from eastern Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The worker bee has a body length of10 ~13mm, a front wing length of 7.5 ~ 9.0mm and a beak length of 4.5 ~ 5.6mm. ..

The body color changes greatly: the handle of worker bee antenna is yellow, but the small shield has three colors: yellow, brown and black.

In high mountain areas, the belly, back and webbed parts of bees are dark, and in low latitudes, low mountains and plains, they are yellow, and the whole body is covered with grayish yellow short hair.

The queen bee has a body length of14 ~19mm and a front wing length of 9.5mm.

There are two kinds of body colors: black and brown, and the whole body is covered with short fluff mixed with black and dark yellow.

The length of the UAV is 1 1 ~ 14 mm, the front wing length is 10 ~ 12 mm, the beak length is 2.3 1 mm, the body color is black or dark brown, and the whole body is covered with short gray fluff.

Due to the different living environment, this subspecies has produced many geographical variations, which can be roughly divided into five ecological types:

South China type is distributed in coastal areas of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangxi.

Its characteristic is that worker bees are small in size and their body color is mainly yellow.

Strong ability to separate bees, weak ability to maintain population potential and poor production performance.