What is the difference between European and tropical honey bees?

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera can be found throughout Europe and Africa and has been introduced to Australia and both North and South America as well.

The regions where Apis mellifera honey bees are native (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) vary dramatically in climate and survival conditions. This variation has caused many subspecies to evolve to adapt to the specific conditions they are exposed to.

While there are various subspecies in each of these areas the most dramatic differences occur between the groups in Europe and those in Africa.

Apis mellifera scutellata, the East African Lowland Honey bee

Climate

Bee on fruit, Afram Plains Ghana

Bees in Africa tend to experience milder winters and in some areas are able to forage throughout the winter months. This means that the bees do not need to store as much honey and often produce less than their European cousins.

Langstroth hives in the snow

Due to the harsher winters experienced in Europe honey bees are forced to spend most of the colder months trapped in their hives. This leaves them unable to forage, relying on their stored honey as the only source of food.

Swarming and absconding

Another of the most noticeable difference between European and African bees is in the rate at which they swarm and abscond.

A swarm arriving at a log hive in Uganda

African honey bees swarm regularly and due to a number of factors including climate, resource availability and fleeing predators and fires, these bees will often abandon a hive in search of a better location.

In some areas of Africa, honey bees are known to conduct seasonal migrations. Leaving high lying areas before the cold winter sets in in and returning in the spring.

Running a swarm into a Warré hive

European honey bee swarms are a lot more stable. While they do still split and create new swarms this happens less frequently than in Africa. Once a swarm has established itself in a hive it is unlikely to abscond unless the hive itself is damaged.

Pests and predators

This hive in Uganda has been damaged by a predator

Throughout much of the African continent there are a variety of predators that can harm a beehive. From ants, wasps and birds to monkeys and of course the honey badger, African honeybees have to fight off large predators making them more defensive towards perceived threats than European honey bees.

African bees also contend with a number of pests. Wax moths, varroa mites as well as the small and large hive beetles will not collapse a strong colony on their own but do take away resources from the hive.

European honey bee with Varroa mite

While European bees share of the same pests, wax moths, varroa mites and small hive beetles in particular, there are fewer predators (wasps and birds will eat bees but are rarely a threat to the hive itself). This makes the bees less defensive.

The varroa mite has been particularly destructive to beehives in Europe.

Disease

Illness and disease seem to affect European honey bees more than their African cousins and there are a number of theories as to why this is.

A borassus log hive in Ghana after a bee colony has absconded

The defensive behaviours of the African bees make them more apt at removing and managing disease bearing pests such as the varroa mite.

More regular swarming and absconding also provides the bees with a break from living on old beeswax which can be the source of illnesses.

National hives, UK

The European honey bees being trapped together inside their hives for long periods may also be conducive to the spread of disease.

Human

A Batwa beekeeper in Uganda

Finally, we have people. Beekeeping has been ongoing in both continents for thousands of years. African bees have maintained wild populations throughout this period. Beekeepers rely on these wild populations to help them populate their apiaries.

Bees for Development beekeeper training course in the UK where we teach sustainable low intervention beekeeping

In Europe the wild populations have drastically shrunk if not disappeared in some areas. This is largely attributed to beekeepers’ management of honeybees to improve their honey yields.

European beekeepers often prevent swarming (which is how bees reproduce at the swarm level) while this can help the beekeepers maintain their apiaries genetics and improve their honey yields it does not allow for natural swarm reproduction and could be a contributing factor to the prevalence of disease.

European beekeepers often have to rely on buying queen bees or swarms from other beekeepers as catching wild swarms is not as practical as it is in Africa.

Another possible reason for honey bee decline in wild UK populations is the reduction in woodland and standing dead wood. We often remove dead trees in the name of safety and cleanliness, which is the preferred natural nesting habitat of Apis mellifera.

Despite these differences in behaviour and beekeeping practice, caused by changes in local climate and ecological setting, all Apis mellifera and indeed all other bee species are still subject to the same threats of habitat loss and pesticide use. Therefore, it is important as beekeepers, in any part of the world, to promote the protection of native habitats and work to reduce our negative impacts on the environment.

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