mitsubachi

Mitsubachi, written 蜜蜂, is the Japanese word for the honeybee. It denotes bees that produce honey and pollinate flowering plants. In Japan, mitsubachi typically refers to both the native Japanese honeybee (Apis cerana japonica) and the domesticated European honeybee (Apis mellifera), which is widely kept for honey and crop pollination.

Honeybee colonies are eusocial communities with a single queen, many worker females, and seasonal male drones. Workers perform brood care, nectar gathering, hive maintenance, and defense; the queen lays eggs, and mating occurs with drones. Foraging bees communicate food-source information through dances, including the waggle dance.

As pollinators, honeybees support many crops and wild plants by transferring pollen and enabling seed and fruit production. They also produce honey and wax. Populations face threats from Varroa destructor mites, pathogens, pesticides, habitat loss, and climate change; native subspecies are of conservation concern in some regions.

Beekeeping for honey and pollination is common worldwide, including Japan. Beekeepers manage colonies, monitor disease, and practice swarm control. Honey, beeswax, and other bee products have cultural and economic significance, and mitsubachi appear in Japanese media, branding, and folk references.

See also: Apis mellifera, Apis cerana, beekeeping, pollination.