Subspecies Apis mellifera ligustica - Italian Honeybee

ligustica is Latin for "of Liguria" (an ancient Roman province in what is now Italy)

A yellow scutellum, and the familiar rings of golden-brown color on the front of the abdomen usually indicate at least a good part of this subspecies in a bee's ancestry. Darker individuals are harder to tell from other subspecies.

Honey bees resembling this subspecies are common and widespread in our area but cannot be reliably identified as such.

First introduced in the mid-1800s, this is by far the most popular "subspecies" with beekeepers and is commonly reported throughout our area as a result. However, subspecies are best identified within their native range and most North American bees are surely hybrids of several native forms that are now widely interbred.