The best-known bee species is the European honey bee, which, as its name suggests, produces honey, as do a few other types of bee.

It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated European honey bee.

Pet stores also have taken to calling them " honey bears ", " panda bears ", " black bears ", " European black bears ", " polar bears ", " teddy bears ", and " Dalmatian ", depending on their coloration.

Squash has historically been pollinated by the native North American squash bee Peponapis pruinosa, and related species, but this bee and its relatives have declined, probably due to pesticide sensitivity, and most commercial plantings are pollinated by European honey bees today.

: This article refers collectively to all true honey bees ; for the " common " domesticated honey bee, see European honey bee.

; European / Western / Common honey bee

It is variously called the European, Western or Common honey bee in different parts of the world.

In early 2007, abnormally high die-offs ( 30-70 % of hives ) of European honey bee colonies occurred in North America ; such a decline seems unprecedented in recent history.

Africanized honey bees, known colloquially as " killer bees ," are some hybrid varieties of the Western honey bee species, ( Apis mellifera ), produced originally by cross-breeding of the African honey bee A. m. scutellata, with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and the Iberian bee A. m. iberiensis.

Small swarms of Africanized bees are capable of taking over European honey bee hives by invading the hive and establishing their own queen after killing the European queen.

Kerr was attempting to breed a strain of bees that would produce more honey and be better adapted to tropical conditions ( i. e., more productive ) than the European subspecies of honey bee used in South America and southern North America.

Several researchers and beekeepers describe a general trait of the African subspecies Apis mellifera scutellata, classified by Lepeletier, 1836-( African honey bee ) Central and West Africa, which is absconding, where the Africanized honeybee colonies abscond the hive in times when food-stores are low, unlike the European colonies which tend to die in the hive.

African bees are characterized by greater defensiveness in established hives than European honey bees.

The venom of an African bee is no more potent than that of a European honey bee, but since the former tends to sting in greater numbers, the number of deaths from them are greater than from the European honey bee.

In 1622, European colonists brought the dark bee ( A. m. mellifera ) to the Americas, followed later by Italian bees ( A. m. ligustica ) and others.

Prey can be spotted from a distance ; European Bee-eaters are able to spot a bee 60 m away, and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters have been observed flying out 100 m to catch large wasps.

Læsø is home to the bee subspecies European dark bee.

Specifically, as compared with the European bee types, the hybrid race:

The Formula One series originated with the European Grand Prix Motor Racing ( q. v.

European federalism originated in post-war Europe ; one of the more important initiatives was Winston Churchill's speech in Zurich in 1946.

The term " folk dance " is sometimes applied to dances of historical importance in European culture and history ; typically originated before 20th century.

Berendt defines jazz as a " form of art music which originated in the United States through the confrontation of blacks with European music "; he argues that jazz differs from European music in that jazz has a " special relationship to time, defined as ' swing '", " a spontaneity and vitality of musical production in which improvisation plays a role "; and " sonority and manner of phrasing which mirror the individuality of the performing jazz musician ".

It originated in a time of persecution of the Jewish people, when European Jews had turned inward to Talmud study ; many felt that most expressions of Jewish life had become too " academic ", and that they no longer had any emphasis on spirituality or joy.

She claims jumping over the broom was definitely a feature in both European and African wedding ceremonies, but believes that the slave practice likely originated in Africa and not Europe.

International co-operation to promote collective security originated in the Concert of Europe that developed after the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century in an attempt to maintain the status quo between European states and so avoid war.

The Missouria or Missouri ( in their own language, Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi ) are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of United States before European contact.

The game is said to have originated in China ( it closely resembles the Chinese game of " Jianshizi ", or " picking stones "), but the origin is uncertain ; the earliest European references to Nim are from the beginning of the 16th century.

Founded by Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov ( 1698 – 1760 ), it originated in an age of persecution of the Jewish people, when a schism existed between scholarly and common European Jews.

While popular in cinema and art for depictions of medieval European characters ( such as Robin Hood ), this style of quiver originated with Native American tribes of North America, and was never used in medieval Europe or Asia.

" Jazz, which developed from the blues and other African-American and European musical traditions and originated around the beginning of the 20th century, has also influenced hip hop and has been cited as a precursor of hip hop.

It originated in the European Alps, and is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier's boot.

Other English legal institutions such as " the scholastic method, the license to teach ", the " law schools known as Inns of Court in England and Madrasas in Islam ” and the " European commenda " ( Islamic Qirad ) may have also originated from Islamic law.

Distillation spread from Ireland to Scotland ( about one hundred years later ) and originated from the European continent in the later medieval centuries.

The original, but now less common use of the word, originated in the application of the Latin word princeps, from Roman, more precisely Byzantine law, and the classical system of government that was the European feudal society.

Ashkenazi Jews share a common ancestry with other Jewish groups and only 5 %- 8 % of the Ashkenazi Jews were found to have genes which possibly originated in non-Jewish European populations.

People often confuse peccaries, which are found in the Americas, with the pig family that originated in Afro-Eurasia, especially since some domestic pigs brought by European settlers have escaped over the years and now run wild as " razorback " hogs in many parts of the United States.

This term originated in the early times of European colonisation in New South Wales and is most likely derived from the word tingo, used by the aboriginal people of Port Jackson for their camp dogs.

Dodge ended production of their full-size vans in June 2002 ( as 2003 models ), and replaced it with the German originated Dodge Sprinter, which is based on a narrower, more fuel-efficient European design pattern with a diesel turbo I5.

" Hushatahli " is believed to have originated as a Choctaw term without European influence ; the Choctaw were believed to be sun worshipers.

The activists claim it was not an invention of Monsanto but rather bio-piracy, because the virus-resistant plants originated in India and were registered in international seed banks ; they further claimed that conventional breeding methods were used to transfer the virus resistance genes from an Indian melon to other melons and that European law prohibits patents on conventional breeding.

It was given additional legitimacy ( at least from a European imperialistic perspective ) by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, which granted Portugal exclusive rights to the half of the world where black pepper originated.