Maltese honey bee [SEP] parent taxon
Maltese honey bee
The Maltese honey bee, "Apis mellifera ruttneri", is a subspecies of the western honey bee. It originates from Malta, where it is native.
Origin.
The bee is a subspecies of the western honey bee that has naturalized and adapted to the environment of the Maltese Islands. It evolved as a different subspecies when the Maltese islands were cut off from mainland Europe. The Maltese bee likely contributed to the islands name as the ancient Greeks called the island ("Melitē") meaning
is notifiable as a honey bee pest under the Stock Diseases Act 1923. The maximum penalty for failing to notify is $11,000.
Sources.
- The Small Hive Beetle Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, June 1999, accessed Sep 2005
- The Small Hive Beetle: A serious threat to European apiculture The Food and Environment Research Agency, UK Nov 2010, accessed Dec 2011
- Somerville, Doug Study of the small hive beetle in the USA Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Jun 2003, accessed Dec