The European Honey Bee or Apis mellifera is the species of honey bee that most commonly used in beekeeping around the world. They are eusocial, meaning that they live in organized colonies, and are considered advanced social insects because they are able to live in colonies that last multiple years and are exceptional at communicating with one another.
Honey bees fall in the class Insecta. Insects are defined by their hard outer bodies called exoskeletons, three body segments (head, thorax, abdomen), three pairs of legs, and 2 antennae. There are over a million insects on the planet! Honey bees are in the order Hymenoptera. It is an order of insects that include bees, wasps, and ants. Hymenoptera have four stages of growth – egg, larva, pupa, adult. They also usually have two pairs of wings.