The honey bees were formerly seen as a small, static group comprising four species, whose behavior and ecology were simple variants on the patterns found in Apis mellifera. The picture now is one of a large, actively speciating group, reflecting in part the complex geological and biological influence of the Apis environment. Research on this diversity has benefitted from new techniques of DNA analysis applied to several long-standing problems in honey bee phylogenetics and that are reported in this volume. The behavior and ecology of the Apis species and populations are also more diverse and differentiated than previously recognized: Radically different orientation systems as expressed through dance language exist in various species. This study of Apis will be of great interest not only to biologists and apiculturalists but to anyone interested in systematics, genetics, and ethology. Our view of apis has changed radically in the past few years as a result of recent research on the Asian honeybee. The contributors to this book focus on systematics, genetics, behaviour and ecology to offer a synthesis for understanding this economically and scientifically important genus.
