honeybees Definition

a honey-producing bee (genus Apis of the family Apidae); especially : a European bee (A. mellifera) introduced worldwide and kept in hives for the honey it produces

a honeybee that originated in Brazil as an accidental hybrid between an aggressive African subspecies (Apis mellifera scutellata) and previously established European honeybees and has spread to Mexico and the southernmost U.S. by breeding with local bees producing populations retaining most of the African bee's traits —called also Africanized honeybee, killer bee