A team of researchers from France, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden is studying colonies of wild honeybee (Apis mellifera). The scientists aim to determine the distribution of these insects across Europe and to identify the factors enabling their survival. Bartłomiej Molasy from the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences of the Jagiellonian University is participating in FREE-B project, along with students from the JU Faculty of Biology.

We once used to be bears. Not literally, of course. Imagine a man looking for a hole in a tree, climbing towards it, and then cutting open part of the tree trunk to access honeycombs, thus obtaining honey and wax, but depriving bees of shelter and supplies needed for survival. Such an encounter usually means the destruction of an entire colony.

Men have used bee nests for thousands of years. Initially this relationship was definitely not on equal terms. Before we started to provide bees with places to live, we first had to learn how to find the ones they had chosen themselves. An important step in this process was the discovery that the same nest may be used by us multiple times, which means that some products can be accessed and harvested without causing too much damage to the colony. Over time, practices involving the creation of artificial nesting spaces inside tree trunks also developed.

Tree beekeeping developed in many different times and places. In Poland it has a very long history and its beginnings are difficult to determine. Tree beekeeping became an important branch of economy, requiring insight into the world of bees. A tree beekeeper had to know the insects’ preferences regarding the size of nesting space and its height above the ground level, secure the tree hive against animals, and ensure that the colony had sufficient conditions and supplies to survive the winter. Thus the bees were given home and protection in exchange for some honey and wax.

Obviously, this did not mean complete control over honey bees. Even a modern-day beekeeper does not decide about everything. The foraging bees choose the sources of nectar and pollen by themselves, and most mothers perform nuptial flights, during which they mate with numerous drones without human control, which means that genetic material may be exchanged between domestic and wild colonies. The very fact of keeping bees does not mean that their life and reproduction are fully subjected to human will.

Bee colonies reproduce by swarming. Beekeepers often try to prevent this, but swarm departures also occur in apiaries. In the first swarm, some worker bees leave the hive together with the current mother. The swarm usually stops nearby, for instance on a tree branch, while the scouts are searching for a new dwelling. They look into nearby tree holes and other possible shelters, estimating their usefulness. Then they return to the swarm and dance, sharing information about the location of their discoveries and ‘advertising’ them accordingly with their own assessment of a given location. 
More scouts fly to the suggested locations in order to check them out. When a sufficient number of them gathers in one place, a quorum is reached. Then the scouts start to stimulate the remaining bees to fly, and finally the swarm departs for a new home. Not all swarm members participate in the choice – the scouts’ activity is the decisive factor. The new home may be a tree hollow or a space in a wall of a building. Without a human caretaker, a man-made beehive, and any guarantee of success.

Here comes the question: can honey bees actually be wild? They definitely can. It is estimated that there may be even two or three times more colonies living without human care than those kept in apiaries. Such populations are especially numerous in Africa. So associating honey bees only with apiaries paints an erroneous picture of this species.

It is important to differentiate between two concepts. Colonies which independently choose the place for their nest and function without human care are called ‘free-living’. They can include feral colonies, originating from  swarms that have left apiaries. A population can be considered wild when a group of free-living colonies is able to sustain itself for several generations, without the necessity of constant inflow of swarms from apiaries.

Finding bees in a tree hollow is not enough to prove the existence of a colony. The colony can die unnoticed and the deserted place can be occupied by another swarm. If such a nest depends on constant inflow of swarms from apiaries, the presence of bees may provide a false impression of continuity, although the population is unable to survive on its own. Determining this requires long-term observation of colonies’ survival and reproduction as well as re-colonisation of nests.

In Europe the density of wild bee colonies is not well studied and many questions about them still remain unanswered. The scientists participating in FREE-B project are seeking answers to these questions, searching for free-living honey bee colonies, observing them and taking samples in order to study their diversity, health and factors allowing their survival without direct human interference. The stakes are high as the acquired knowledge may be used for protecting wild honey bees, which since 2025 have been recognised as endangered species in 27 states of the European Union.

Their survival is threatened by a number of factors, including habitat loss and diseases. The introduction of alien subspecies and breeding lines can make it more difficult for the native populations to remain genetically distinct. This does not mean that every exchange of genes between free living and domesticated bees poses a threat, but bees bred in apiaries often lack the adaptations needed to survive without human assistance.

And yet, bees that are able to survive without our care really do have a great deal to teach us. How do they cope with the varroa mite (Varroa destructor), other diseases and environmental changes? Does their success depend on specific genetic traits, behaviour, environmental conditions, or perhaps on the interaction of these factors? The answers may help not only to protect wild populations, but also to better understand the biology of this species and to develop solutions useful in beekeeping. The preserved genetic diversity may also constitute a valuable resource for future breeding programmes.

It is therefore worth stop thinking of the honey bee solely as an inhabitant of an apiary. Somewhere near us, in the hollow of an old tree or a crack in a wall, a colony may be living without a human carer. Observing it could help answer questions to which we still do not know the answers.

Scientists welcome everyone to join the FREE-B study and report the location of wild bee colonies. The project relies heavily on citizen science, that is, collaboration between researchers and members of the public who find nests and regularly provide information about their inhabitants.