Honeybee (honeybee) - Honeybee (English spelling)

Japanese: ミツバチ(蜜蜂) - ミツバチ（英語表記）honey bee

A general term for insects belonging to the genus Apis in the superfamily Anthoidea, family Apidae, order Hymenoptera (illustration). Two types of honeybees are found in Japan: the Japanese honeybee A. cerana and the Western honeybee A. mellifera . Queen bees are 20 mm long, while worker bees are 14 mm long. They are reddish-brown with brown horizontal stripes on their abdomens. Japanese honeybees are slightly smaller, and their body color is generally darker than that of Western honeybees. Both live in large family groups centered around a queen bee, and a single hive of Western honeybees can sometimes contain as many as 50,000 to 60,000 bees.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

膜翅目ハナバチ上科ミツバチ科ミツバチ属Apisに属する昆虫の総称（イラスト）。日本には，ニホンミツバチA.ceranaとセイヨウミツバチA.melliferaの2種類が産する。セイヨウミツバチは，体長が女王バチ20mm，働きバチ14mm。赤褐色で腹部に褐色の横縞がある。ニホンミツバチは少し小さめで，体色も全般にセイヨウミツバチより黒い。いずれも女王バチを中心とした大家族の集団で生活し，セイヨウミツバチでは，その1巣当り，ときに5～6万匹に達する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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