| Apis mellifera artemisia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Apis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | A. m. artemisia |
| Trinomial name | |
| Apis mellifera artemisia Engel 1999 [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Apis mellifera artemisia is the Russian steppe honey bee, first identified in 1999 near Kyiv, Ukraine, by only one specimen, [2] but by 2011 its taxonomic status had been called into question, [3] although to date no DNA analysis has been conducted: At the same time the taxonomic status of the Apis mellifera ruttneri on Malta was also called into question, however in 2017 it was confirmed that Apis mellifera ruttneri was a new and separate subspecies. [4]
Its name is derived from Artemis the Greek goddess for whom the honey bee was a symbol and whose temple at Ephesus, the Artemision, was listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the world. [1]
