European dark bee
Also known as: Dark European honey bee, Black bee, Apis mellifera mellifera
The European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) is a subspecies of the honey bee native to Northern Europe and adapted to the climate of the Nordic-Baltic region, with short summers and long winters.
The European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) is a subspecies of the honey bee native to Northern Europe and adapted to the climate of the Nordic-Baltic region, with short summers and long winters. It is also called the black bee. Today it is a threatened subspecies.
According to Henriques and colleagues (Apidologie, 2019), the subspecies is threatened across most of its native range, partly because of introgressive hybridization with bees of the highly divergent C-lineage, such as the Carniolan and Italian bees. Parejo and colleagues (Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2016) note that in beekeeping it has been widely replaced by C-lineage subspecies.
A 2024 study in south-western Sweden (Schaumann and colleagues, PLOS ONE) compared the dark bee with the hybrid Buckfast. Dark-bee drones appeared later in spring, left the hive earlier in summer, flew longer and flew more in strong light and wind. The authors see this as local adaptation to the region.
Why this matters to you. The dark bee shows that a local subspecies is better suited to its own climate: subspecies show beneficial behavioural adaptations where the environment resembles their place of origin. Losing pure populations means losing bee diversity, which is why hybridization is tracked with genetic markers (SNPs).
Facts
| Region | Northern Europe (Nordic-Baltic region); largely replaced in beekeeping by C-lineage subspecies |
|---|---|
| House range | Threat: introgressive hybridization with C-lineage bees (Carniolan, Italian) |
| Main use | Conservation: isolated mating areas, hybridization monitored with SNP markers |
How it connects to Honey & beekeeping
European dark bee → kind of → 🐝 Bees → gives → 🍯 Honey
Links
- Part of
- 🐝 Bees
- Similar and different
- Western honey bee
Frequently asked questions
Where does the European dark bee live naturally?
In Northern Europe: the subspecies is adapted to the climate of the Nordic-Baltic region, with short summers and long winters.
Why is the subspecies threatened?
Because of introgressive hybridization with C-lineage bees, including the Carniolan and Italian bees (Henriques et al., 2019).
Is it true that the dark bee and Buckfast are the same thing?
No: Buckfast is a hybrid and the dark bee is a native subspecies; a 2024 Swedish study found differences in drone behaviour between them.
What is local adaptation?
Subspecies show beneficial behavioural traits in an environment similar to their place of origin (Schaumann et al., 2024).
How is the purity of the dark bee tracked?
With genetic markers, including SNPs, in conservation and breeding programmes.
Similar
Carniolan honey bee · Italian honey bee · Buckfast bee · Worker bee · Swarming · Queen bee
Sources
- Henriques et al. (2019) Apidologie: mitochondrial SNP marker set for the dark bee
- Parejo et al. (2016) Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution: SNP panel for monitoring hybridization
- Schaumann et al. (2024) PLOS ONE: native and hybrid (Buckfast) honeybee drones in Sweden