Honey bee Facts
A honey bee is a eusocial flying insect of the genus Apis that builds wax nests of hexagonal cells and stores surplus food as honey.
- Class
- Insect
- Scientific name
- Apis
About the honey bee
Honey bees live in big colonies inside cavities, building long-lasting nests from wax they secrete and shape into six-sided cells. They turn digested carbohydrates into honey as stored food, and that stash attracts bears, honey badgers and human hunter-gatherers. Out of roughly 20,000 known bee species, honey bees are only a small slice, yet they are the bees people know best and the most valuable helpful insects for farming and gardening.
The western honey bee is the best-known species and has been domesticated for honey and for pollinating crops. The eastern honey bee is the only other domesticated species, kept in East, Southeast and South Asia. Beyond honey, people use beeswax in candles, soap, lip balm and cosmetics, and royal jelly and bee venom show up in alternative medicine.
Did you know?
- Only bees in the genus Apis count as true honey bees.
- A few stingless bees make honey too, and people keep them for it.
- Honeybee, written as one word, is an accepted alternate spelling of honey bee.
Questions about the honey bee
How many kinds of bees are there?
There are roughly 20,000 known bee species, and honey bees are a small fraction of them.
What is beeswax used for?
People use it in candles, soap, lip balms and cosmetics, as a lubricant and in lost wax mold-making.
Sources
- Wikidata Q102857, checked October 8, 2026
- Wikipedia: Honey bee, checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.