ABSTRACT
The red dwarf honeybee, Apis florea, is an open-nesting wild bee that is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia in general and South East Asia in particular. The workers of A. florea are smaller than other Apis species and show striking differences among their castes. The workers are reddish brown in colour, and the drones and queens have grey and orange-yellow abdominal segments, respectively. The workers have the least sensitive eyes with the smallest acceptance angles. The scouts find nest sites through recruitment dances and select a suitable nest site within a few hours. The colonies were well distributed vertically at the heights between 2 and 6 m from the ground level. A. florea evolved many specialized adaptations to overcome environmental stress and risk of predation. These unique behaviours, together with well-developed worker policing and defensive strategies, made A. florea a successful honeybee in tropical and subtropical regions of South East Asia.
