   a honey bee (or honeybee) is any member of the genus apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests from wax. honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe apini, all in the genus apis. currently, only seven species of honey bee are recognized, with a total of 44 subspecies, though historically, from six to eleven species have been recognised. honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees. some other types of related bees produce and store honey, but only members of the genus apis are true honey bees. the study of honey bees is known as apiology. ==origin, systematics and distribution== left|thumb|distribution of honey bees around the world    honey bees appear to have their center of origin in south and southeast asia (including the philippines), as all but one (i.e. apis mellifera), of the extant species are native to that region. notably, living representatives of the earliest lineages to diverge (apis florea and apis andreniformis) have their center of origin there.{{cite journal |author=deborah r. smith, lynn villafuerte, gard otisc & michael r. palmer |url=http://www.culturaapicola.com.ar/apuntes/revistaselectronicas/apidologie/31-2/m0209.p
Apis_(genus) Beekeeping Pollinators Symbols_of_Mississippi