{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Taxon",
  "slug": "honey-bee",
  "name": "Honey Bee",
  "scientificName": "Apis mellifera",
  "category": "Insect",
  "summary": "The honey bee is a social insect that lives in colonies of tens of thousands, built around a single egg-laying queen. Honey bees pollinate a large share of the crops people rely on, make honey from flower nectar, and communicate the location of food through a \"waggle dance.\" Worker bees live only a few weeks in summer, while a queen can live several years.",
  "conservationStatus": "Not Evaluated",
  "taxonomy": {
    "kingdom": "Animalia",
    "phylum": "Arthropoda",
    "class": "Insecta",
    "order": "Hymenoptera",
    "family": "Apidae",
    "genus": "Apis"
  },
  "stats": {
    "weightKg": 0.0001,
    "lengthM": 0.015,
    "topSpeedKmh": 28,
    "lifespanYears": 1
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "label": "Scientific name",
      "value": "Apis mellifera"
    },
    {
      "label": "Diet",
      "value": "Nectar and pollen"
    },
    {
      "label": "Habitat",
      "value": "Worldwide wherever flowering plants grow"
    },
    {
      "label": "Lifespan",
      "value": "Workers ~6 weeks; queens 2–5 years"
    },
    {
      "label": "Colony size",
      "value": "20,000–80,000 bees"
    },
    {
      "label": "Top speed",
      "value": "~28 km/h (17 mph)"
    },
    {
      "label": "Conservation status",
      "value": "Not formally evaluated by IUCN"
    }
  ],
  "range": {
    "nativeRange": "Native to Europe, Africa, and western Asia; now kept by beekeepers worldwide.",
    "continents": [
      "Europe",
      "Africa",
      "Asia"
    ]
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "citation": "IUCN Red List — Apis mellifera.",
      "url": "https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Apis%20mellifera&searchType=species"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Animal Diversity Web — Apis mellifera. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.",
      "url": "https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Apis_mellifera/"
    },
    {
      "citation": "Wikipedia — Honey Bee.",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_honey_bee"
    }
  ],
  "lastReviewed": "2026-07-16",
  "canonicalUrl": "https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/honey-bee/",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
    "attribution": "Global Animal Guide — https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/honey-bee/",
    "note": "Free to reuse for non-commercial purposes with attribution and a link back to the canonical page."
  }
}