Bug FAQRed Dwarf Honey Bee
Apis florea · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Apidae
Also called: Asian dwarf honey bee, Dwarf Honey Bee
Source: Wikipedia
Workers are tiny, only about 7 to 10 mm long and have a reddish-brown color, with older workers showing a red first abdominal segment. They live in forested areas and also pollinate tropical fruit crops in Thailand, ranging across Southeast Asia and parts of the Middle East. Foragers communicate by a straight-run dance on the horizontal comb surface rather than the vertical waggle dance of honey-bee relatives.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The bee is overall reddish-brown, and older workers always have a red first abdominal segment, while younger workers are paler.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
A worker measures roughly 7 to 10 mm in body length.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
They sting with two barbed stylets.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits forest habitats and also serves as a pollinator for tropical fruit crops in Thailand.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It is an excellent pollinator, playing an important ecological role in its habitats. Foragers use a straight-run dance on the horizontal comb surface to point to food sources.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Drones live on average about 15.6 days, ranging from 6 to 41 days. Queens live much longer, matching the longevity of the colony.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, India, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and also in parts of the Middle East like Iran, Oman, and the UAE.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They belong to the primitive subgenus Micrapis and are redder than the similar A. andreniformis, which is darker with a black first abdominal segment in old workers.
Source: Wikipedia
Questions people ask
How can I tell an old worker from a young one?
Old workers have a distinct red first abdominal segment, while younger workers are paler.
Source: Wikipedia
Where might I find these bees?
They are common in forested regions and tropical fruit farms in Southeast Asia and parts of the Middle East.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Apidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_florea
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.