Bee coming in to land on pink water lily

I was about to take a picture of the water lily when the bee arrived

comments (6)

englishindiangirl

Lion

Hi Stuart. This bee lives in Mauritius in The Indian Ocean. Do they have European bees there? Posted 9 years ago
1. Stuart
  
  Lion
  
  Hello there - I did think the exact same thing - I checked a number of websites for 'bees of Mauritius' and the same bees kept coming back up. According to the sources I read:
  
  Apis mellifera is native to Europe, western Asia, and Africa. Human introduction of Apis mellifera to other continents started in the 17th century, and now they are found all around the world, including east Asia, Australia and North and South America. (Sammataro and Avitabile, 1998; Winston, et al., 1981)
  (Source = http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Apis_mellifera/)
  
  I'm more than happy to be told I'm incorrect though if anyone thinks so. I'd hate to be giving duff information out :) - Lovely picture by the way! Posted 9 years ago

englishindiangirl

Lion

Hi Stuart. This bee lives in Mauritius in The Indian Ocean. Do they have European bees there? Posted 9 years ago

englishindiangirl

Lion

Hello Stuart. I'm sure you're correct! I did wonder if bees had been introduced centuries ago.
The only thing I wonder about is the colour - they were black with very faint banding. What do you think, just evolved that way? Posted 9 years ago
1. Stuart
  
  Lion
  
  Hi, I'm sure one of the other site members with more experience will correct us if required :)
  I suppose that would make sense, different locations lead to differences in appearance. I'll have to look into it for my own curiosity. Posted 9 years ago
2. 1. englishindiangirl
    
    Lion
    
    I've been looking as well. I found a picture of Apis mellifera unicolor when I googled Mauritius bees. Apparently there are several different types of bees from there. Among the photos was an almost exactly the same colouring as my bee.unfortunately I'm having to use my tablet. My computer is updating and I can't access the info. Also I'm not sure how to send links.
    Posted 9 years ago

The Western honey bee

The western honey bee or European honey bee is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide. The genus name "Apis" is Latin for "bee", and "mellifera" is the Latin for "honey-bearing", referring to the species' production of honey.

Info 196 0

Similar species: Wasps, Bees, Sawflies And Ants

Species identified by Stuart