Melittology (from Greek , ''melitta'', "bee"; and ''

-logia ''-logy'' is a suffix in the English language, used with words originally adapted from Ancient Greek ending in ('). The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French '' -logie'', which was in turn inherited from the Latin '' -logi ...

'') is a branch of

entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

concerning the scientific study of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s. It may also be called apicology. Melittology covers the species found in the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English ter ...

Anthophila Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the super ...

within the superfamily

Apoidea The superfamily Apoidea is a major group within the Hymenoptera, which includes two traditionally recognized lineages, the " sphecoid" wasps, and the bees. Molecular phylogeny demonstrates that the bees arose from within the traditional " Crabroni ...

, comprising more than 20,000 species, including

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

s and

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...

Subdivisions

* Apiology – (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, "bee"; and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

, ''

'') is the scientific study of

s. Honey bees are often chosen as a study group to answer questions on the evolution of social systems. :* Apidology is a variant spelling of ''apiology'' used outside of the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

, primarily in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

; it is sometimes used interchangeably with ''melittology''.

Melittological societies

Melittologists and apiologists are served by a number of scientific societies, both national and international in scope. Their main role is to encourage the study of bees and apicultural research. * '' International Bee Research Association'' * '' National Bee Association of New Zealand'' * ''

British Beekeepers Association The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales that was founded in 1874. It is made up of 75 associations in England & Wales plus one in Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Jersey. At end of ...

'' * ''

German Beekeepers Association The German Beekeepers Association, "Deutscher Imkerbund", (DIB) is the umbrella organization of German beekeepers based in Wachtberg Wachtberg is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated a ...

'' * '' Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations''

Melittological journals

*
Apidologie
' *
American Bee Journal
' * ''Journal of Apicultural Research'' * ''Journal of Melittology''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melittology Bees Subfields of entomology * Sociobiology

Subdivisions

Melittological societies

Melittological journals

See also

References