I think right now Apis (honey bees) contains 9 species, there are divided into 4 groups -- originally as 4 species when I learned the taxonomy in graduate school. A. mellifera* (our bees here in NA) A. cerana* -sister species of mellfiera, original host of Varroa jacobsoni A. koschenikovi A. nigrocincta A. nuluensis -- the above 3 species recently split from A. cerana (last decade) A. dorsata* -- giant honey bees A. laboriosa -- black giant bees, recognized as a new species around 1986. A. florea* -- dwarf honey bees A. andreniformis* -- black dwarf bees, recently recognized. you can see 5 species of them in my photo collection: http://photo.bees.net/gallery. simply search for the ones marked with * above. http://cyberbee.msu.edu/biology/ch1/ gives an overview of the Apis genus. Zachary Huang http://cyberbee.msu.edu :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::