Himalayan Giant Honey Bee

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Apidae

Subfamily: Apinae

Genus: Apis

Species: Apis laboriosa

Introduction:

Apis laboriosa, commonly known as the “Himalayan Giant Honey Bee” is native to the Himalayan mountains in South Asia. Apis laboriosa is the largest honey bee in the world with a total body length of 3 cm (1.2 in). It is an importanrt pollinator species in South Asia and its honey is often harvested for human consumption. It is a close relative of Apis mellifera (Western Honey Bee) and Apis dorsata (Giant Honey Bee). Before the 1980’s Apis laboriosa was considered a subspecies of Apis dorsata, but in 1980 and the following 20 years it was changed to a separate species. Yet in 1999 Apis laboriosa was once again classified as a subspecies of Apis dorsata. Finally in 2020 it has been officially determined to be a separate species due to them occurring in the same locations, but not interbreeding (Kumar, 2011).

Morphology:

Apis laboriosa is a close relative of Apis mellifera, which is the European Honey Bee. Apis mellifera is the species of choice in the United States and is what pollinates our plants and produces our honey. Apis laboriosa shares many of the same anatomical characteristics as Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata. Until recently, Apis laboriosa was thought to be a sub species of Apis dorsata and was called Apis dorsata laboriosa. They were thought to be this becuase they live in the same region, appear very simillar, behave in the same way, and share many of the same features. And being that they are in a remote location and are extremely aggresive, they were not studied extensivly or accuratly until 2020.

Environment:

Apis laboriosa lives approximately 1,000 - 3,000 meters above sea level in the Himalayan Mountain range, and on some of the neighboring mountains. Apis laboriosa build open air nests located on large tree branches and on cliff faces, composed of a single large comb. This comb is constantly covered by a blanket of upwards of 100,000 worker bees. The covering of the nest by worker bees is used to protect the valuable honey stored in the comb from predators and things like rain and wind.

Honey Production:

Apis laboriosa are known to produce a special kind of honey that is known as mad honey. Mad honey is produced by the bees when thy feed on the Rhododendron nectar. Within Rhododendron nectar are grayanotoxins, grayanotoxins are a sodium channel toxins which can lead to an altered mental status at low doses and are life threatening at higher doses. This toxin does not have an effect on the bees, but it can have large effects on anything that eats their honey. Accounts of it affects date back to 401 BC. Apis dorsata also produces honey that does not contain grayanotixins. This honey is highly prized by locals, and thy are willing to take great risks to get to it.

Defense:

Apis Laboriosa is regarded as on of the most dangerous animals in the southeastern Asian jungles becuase of the aggressive defensive behaviours (Jack, 2015). When a threat is initially perceived by the nest, the bees cproduce a series of waves that propogate accross the entire nest making it appear as one larger organism. If that does not work, Apis laboriosa will swarm the threat, but once a bee stings the threat, their stinger is ripped out which kills the bee. Because of this only a few bees will sting the target, and the rest will buzz loudly and bite, this allows the attack to go on for much longer (Jack, 2015).

Citations:

Kitnya, N., Prabhudev, M. V., Bhatta, C. P., Pham, T. H., Nidup, T., Megu, K., Chakravorty, J., Brockmann, A., & Otis, G. W. (2020). Geographical distribution of the giant honey bee Apis laboriosa Smith, 1871 (Hymenoptera, Apidae). ZooKeys, 951, 67–81. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.951.49855

Kumar., S. S., & Reddy, M. S. (2011). Traditional Honey Harvesting from Rock Bees (Apis dorsata) in Karnataka, India. Journal of Apiculture, 26(3), 241–248.

Abdulkadir Gunduz, Suleyman Turedi, Robert M. Russell & Faik Ahmet Ayaz (2008) Clinical review of grayanotoxin/mad honey poisoning past and present, Clinical Toxicology, 46:5, 437-442, DOI: 10.1080/15563650701666306

Jack, C. J. (2015, December). The giant honey bee. Giant honey bee - apis dorsata. Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/Apis_dorsata.htm.

Woyke, J., Wilde, J., Wilde, M. et al. Comparison of Defense Body Movements of Apis laboriosa, Apis dorsata dorsata and Apis dorsata breviligula Honey Bees. J Insect Behav 21, 481–494 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-008-9144-1

Kastberger, G., Weihmann, F. & Hoetzl, T. Social waves in giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) elicit nest vibrations. Naturwissenschaften 100, 595–609 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1056-z

Kitnya N, Prabhudev MV, Bhatta CP, Pham TH, Nidup T, Megu K, Chakravorty J, Brockmann A, Otis GW (2020) Geographical distribution of the giant honey bee Apis laboriosa Smith, 1871 (Hymenoptera, Apidae). ZooKeys 951: 67-81.