The western honey bee is the most economically important and intensively studied pollinating insect on Earth, and the only honey bee species native to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East [Han et al. 2012]. It occupies an unusual position in conservation: managed colonies number well over 100 million worldwide and are not at risk, while genuinely wild and feral colonies are far harder to count and, in parts of Europe, appear to be declining [Visick & Ratnieks 2023]. This profile distinguishes the secure managed population from the more fragile wild one, and explains why scientists increasingly treat managed honey bees as livestock rather than as a focus of wildlife conservation [Geldmann & González-Varo 2018].
Biology and Identification
Apis mellifera is a eusocial insect living in perennial colonies of a single reproductive queen, tens of thousands of sterile female workers, and seasonally produced males (drones). Workers measure roughly 10–15 mm in body length, queens 18–20 mm, and drones 15–17 mm, with subspecies differing in size, coloration, tongue length, and defensive behavior [Ellis & Ellis 2017]. The species has been divided into more than two dozen recognized subspecies grouped into several evolutionary lineages — broadly African (A), western and northern European (M), eastern European (C), and Near Eastern (O) [Han et al. 2012].
Honey bees are partially endothermic: by contracting their flight muscles, workers generate heat to warm the colony and maintain brood-nest temperatures near 35 °C through winter. Foragers communicate the direction and distance of food sources through the waggle dance, and the colony reproduces at the level of the whole superorganism by swarming, in which a queen departs with a portion of the workers to found a new nest. Comb built from secreted beeswax serves both as brood-rearing cells and as storage for honey and pollen.
The native range and deep evolutionary history of the species remain debated. Genetic analyses have variously supported origins in Africa, the Near East, or — in more recent mitogenomic work — a complex expansion involving Europe and Asia Minor over hundreds of thousands of years [Carr 2023].
Habitat and Range
Western honey bees are native to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and have been carried by humans to every other inhabited continent, where introduced managed and feral populations are now widespread [Visick & Ratnieks 2023]. Within the native and introduced range, colonies nest in tree cavities, rock crevices, and human-made hives, foraging across forests, grasslands, agricultural land, and urban areas wherever flowering plants are available.
Wild colony density varies enormously by region. A worldwide review of 41 surveyed locations found densities ranging from about 0.1 to 24.2 colonies per square kilometre, with the highest values in Latin America and Africa and the lowest in Europe — where free-living colonies averaged roughly 0.26 per square kilometre, some 25 times lower than in those regions [Visick & Ratnieks 2023]. Globally the same review estimated that wild colonies still outnumber the roughly 102 million managed colonies by two- to three-fold, although in Europe and parts of Asia managed hives dominate [Visick & Ratnieks 2023].
In accordance with NRWL sensitive-species policy, specific wild-colony nest locations, tree-cavity aggregation coordinates, and seasonal swarm-movement details are not disclosed in this article.
Conservation Status
The western honey bee has not been assessed at the global scale by the IUCN Red List as of mid-2026; its world-level status is Not Evaluated [EUNIS 2024]. At the pan-European level it is classified as Data Deficient, because researchers cannot yet reliably distinguish truly wild, self-sustaining colonies from escaped or feral managed stock, and lack adequate population-trend data across much of the continent [Nieto et al. 2014; EUNIS 2024]. A 2025 reassessment retained the pan-European Data Deficient status but, for the first time, classified the wild population within the European Union as Endangered, citing habitat loss, parasites and disease, and human-mediated hybridization with managed bees [Nieto et al. 2014].
This nuance is central to honest reporting: the western honey bee as a managed species is abundant and in no danger of extinction, and conserving managed hives is not a substitute for protecting biodiversity. Much of the broader "pollinator decline" concern centers on wild native bees — including many bumblebees and solitary bees — rather than on the western honey bee itself [Geldmann & González-Varo 2018]. The species is not listed on the CITES appendices [EUNIS 2024].
Threats
Parasites and pathogens. The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is the single most serious biological threat to A. mellifera worldwide. It feeds on developing and adult bees and transmits viruses, and untreated infestations typically destroy a colony within a few years; its global spread is closely tied to elevated colony losses [Rosenkranz et al. 2010].
Pesticide exposure. A pan-European field study across the United Kingdom, Germany, and Hungary found that exposure to neonicotinoid-treated oilseed rape reduced honey bee overwintering success in two of three countries, with overwintering colony numbers falling about 24% in Hungary, and also reduced reproduction in wild bumblebees and solitary bees [Woodcock et al. 2017].
Colony losses. Standardized international monitoring continues to record substantial overwintering mortality of managed colonies; a COLOSS survey covering 37 countries reported an overall winter loss rate of about 18% [Gray et al. 2023]. Beekeeper management generally offsets these losses, but they signal ongoing stress from combined parasite, disease, nutritional, and environmental pressures.
Pressure on wild colonies and hybridization. Wild and feral populations face habitat loss, scarcity of suitable nest cavities, and genetic swamping through hybridization with managed bees, eroding locally adapted native subspecies [Nieto et al. 2014].
Competition with native pollinators. High densities of managed honey bees can compete with wild bees for floral and nesting resources and can transmit pathogens to them. A systematic review found that a majority of relevant studies reported negative effects of managed bees on wild bees, though effects varied by context [Mallinger et al. 2017].
What Is Being Done
Distinguishing livestock from wildlife. A growing scientific consensus argues that managed honey bees should be treated as agricultural livestock, and that conservation funding and protected-area policy should prioritize wild native pollinators rather than additional managed hives — including measures such as limiting managed-hive densities within protected areas [Geldmann & González-Varo 2018].
Pesticide regulation. Evidence of harm from neonicotinoids contributed to restrictions on several of these compounds in the European Union, where outdoor use of the most-studied neonicotinoids has been banned, with ongoing monitoring of pollinator exposure [Woodcock et al. 2017].
Varroa and disease management. Integrated pest management — combining mite monitoring, biotechnical methods, selective breeding for mite resistance, and judicious treatment — remains the foundation of sustaining managed colonies, supported by decades of research into the mite's biology and control [Rosenkranz et al. 2010].
Standardized monitoring. International networks such as COLOSS collect comparable colony-loss data across dozens of countries each year, providing the long-term baselines needed to detect trends and evaluate interventions [Gray et al. 2023]. Surveys of wild colony density worldwide are beginning to fill the data gaps that currently leave the wild population classified as Data Deficient in Europe [Visick & Ratnieks 2023].
Protecting native subspecies. Conservation breeding areas and protected populations of locally adapted subspecies aim to preserve the genetic diversity of wild honey bees against hybridization with introduced managed stock [Nieto et al. 2014].
How Readers Can Help
Support wild pollinators broadly. Plant diverse, pesticide-free flowering plants and provide nesting habitat that benefits the full community of wild bees, recognizing that adding managed honey bee hives is an agricultural activity rather than a contribution to biodiversity conservation [Geldmann & González-Varo 2018].
Citizen science. Record bee and other pollinator observations through platforms such as iNaturalist. Verified occurrence data help researchers map wild colonies and improve the population information that current assessments lack [Visick & Ratnieks 2023].
Policy engagement. Support policies that restrict harmful pesticide use, protect natural and semi-natural habitat for pollinators, and direct conservation resources toward wild native bees and their habitats [Woodcock et al. 2017].
Informed choices. Where beekeeping is pursued, follow good practice on mite monitoring and disease control to reduce the spread of parasites and pathogens to other colonies and to wild bees [Rosenkranz et al. 2010].
References
[Carr 2023] Carr, S.M. (2023). Multiple mitogenomes indicate Things Fall Apart with Out of Africa or Asia hypotheses for the phylogeographic evolution of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera). Scientific Reports, 13, 9386. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35937-4
[Ellis & Ellis 2017] Ellis, J.D. & Ellis, A. (2017). European Honey Bee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus and subspecies (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae). EENY568, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida IFAS Extension. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1005
[EUNIS 2024] European Environment Agency. (2024). Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 — species factsheet. European Nature Information System (EUNIS). https://eunis.eea.europa.eu/species/254009
[Geldmann & González-Varo 2018] Geldmann, J. & González-Varo, J.P. (2018). Conserving honey bees does not help wildlife. Science, 359(6374), 392–393. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar2269
[Gray et al. 2023] Gray, A., Adjlane, N., Arab, A., Ballis, A., Brusbardis, V., Bugeja Douglas, A., Cadahía, L., Charrière, J.-D., Chlebo, R., Coffey, M.F., et al. (2023). Honey bee colony loss rates in 37 countries using the COLOSS survey for winter 2019–2020: the combined effects of operation size, migration and queen replacement. Journal of Apicultural Research, 62(2), 204–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2022.2113329
[Han et al. 2012] Han, F., Wallberg, A. & Webster, M.T. (2012). From where did the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) originate? Ecology and Evolution, 2(8), 1949–1957. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.312
[Mallinger et al. 2017] Mallinger, R.E., Gaines-Day, H.R. & Gratton, C. (2017). Do managed bees have negative effects on wild bees?: A systematic review of the literature. PLOS ONE, 12(12), e0189268. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189268
[Nieto et al. 2014] Nieto, A., Roberts, S.P.M., Kemp, J., Rasmont, P., Kuhlmann, M., García Criado, M., Biesmeijer, J.C., Bogusch, P., Dathe, H.H., De la Rúa, P., et al. (2014). European Red List of Bees. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union. https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/nieto2014
[Rosenkranz et al. 2010] Rosenkranz, P., Aumeier, P. & Ziegelmann, B. (2010). Biology and control of Varroa destructor. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 103(Suppl. 1), S96–S119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2009.07.016
[Visick & Ratnieks 2023] Visick, O.D. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. (2023). Density of wild honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies worldwide. Ecology and Evolution, 13(10), e10609. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10609
[Woodcock et al. 2017] Woodcock, B.A., Bullock, J.M., Shore, R.F., Heard, M.S., Pereira, M.G., Redhead, J., Ridding, L., Dean, H., Sleep, D., Henrys, P., et al. (2017). Country-specific effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on honey bees and wild bees. Science, 356(6345), 1393–1395. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1190