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Ancestor: Apis mellifera (Western Honey Bee)
A worker.
Temporal Range:
Temporal Range:
Evolved: Around 50,000 Yh (By 100,000 Yh)
Extinct: Not yet.
Geographical Range:
Geographical Range:
Location: Warm tropical grassland climate band across Catland from the West coast across the continent towards the East coast. It has not reached all the way to the East coast and is half-way across the South East continental plate.
Viable Habitat: Open habitat in tropical to subtropical grassland and thin woodland with scattered trees and exposed rock cavities, such as where rivers have etched gorges into the bedrock or at higher elevations where terrain becomes more uneven and rocks exposed, but temperatures may also be cooler upland to allow for day-round activity. Occasionally found in arid habitats but in lower numbers and only near sources of water.
Range at the South in orange. This is a broadly encompassing range, but within the broad range there may be vacancies where no bees are present, such as where resources are lacking.
Queen (female)
Worker (female)
Drone (male)
Length:
15 mm - 18 mm
8 mm - 12 mm
13 mm - 16 mm
Lifespan:
4 Years
28 days
2 1/2 Months (unless mated)
Typical Hive Population: 40,000 bees
Typical Hive Volume Capacity: 30 Litres
Dietary Needs: Pollen and nectar from flowers , honey made from pollen and nectar an to a lesser extent from soft sugary fruit.
Life Cycle: They have a similar life cycle to their ancestors, where male drones are haploid and fatherless, female workers don't lay eggs (usually, in the rare instance they do it's all haploid males in the presence of old queens with failing pheromone production), and only a queen fertilised by male drones can make more workers and future queens. Queens and drones mate in shaded and if available also humid gathering spots where they meet drones and queens from other colonies, which prevents inbreeding.
Larvae and bees also go through a similar pattern of growth to their ancestor, with newly pupated workers tending to larvae until they are old enough (around 9 days) to forage for nectar and pollen. Also similarly, new queens are mortally aggressive to one another if they emerge in the same hive at the same time, or may divide the colony in a process known as swarming.
Other: The greyish bands on it's abdomen are more wide and distinct on all castes compared to it's ancestor. There is less richness of golden in their hairs, with some hairs being grey. The colour is similar to the flesh of the larvae, but it is not something so delicate. It is caused by a structural change in the formation of the epicuticle that helps scatter light (with much being reflected back out away from the body). The resulting white colour warms less quickly than darker colours and shades. The darker parts of it's body is also more of a brown, less black than the ancestor. Against a bright background such as grassy plains or sun-bleached rocks they don't stand out as much as their darker-coloured ancestors did. It's light, reflective quality also helps slow the rate it's body warms in the sun and extends it's active time in the sun. Their undersides are still black, so if they need to warm up quickly (like during the cooler morning) they lift their abdomens pointing them into the air and show their tummies to the sun.
They are smaller for two reasons. They can cool down faster in the shade as well as warm up faster at the beginning of optimum hours for activity (morning and evening while there is still daylight). The second reason is that their nectar and pollen sources are few and consist of small flowers. Being smaller means they can access the nectar more easily and they don't need (and can't even carry) as much of the nectar and pollen. The whole hive's requirements are lower than the hives of the ancestor species. In swarming and defence situations what they lack in size they easily make up for in numbers. There aren't any large mammals around to raid them. Their venom is enough against the mice and lizards that usually pester them.
They abscond more often than their ancestors used to due to the unreliability of hot, dry environments but as a trade-off don't need a winter honey reserve, so can afford to move more readily. Swarming is also more common for the same reason.
Surplus honey is still important but it's usually consumed during droughts. Overflow reserves can be thinner and more watery than the ancestral species' honey, which means it doesn't keep as long before spoiling but there is less of it to store and it usually gets consumed quickly. The advantage is that some honey can double as a water store. The compacted pollen a.k.a. "bee bread" plays a more important role as a food reserve.
Bee-raiding lizards are a common predator of this species of bee in certain environments where their populations overlap. However, the bees are not defenceless. Many lizards die from too many stings.
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