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So there's this Greek myth that says Zeus was fed by bees when he was born. In gratitude, he blessed them with the color of "shining bronze", and made them immune to cold and harsh winds. These bees lived in Zeus' sacred cave in Crete, and aggressively chased away anyone who tried to steal their honey.

Any #apiarist or #entomology expert out there who could tell me what these bees are by any chance?...

#mythology #biology #nature #folklore #bees
#Nature #folklore #bees #mythology #biology #entomology #apiarist
Kyle Taylor
"Samples from
Crete island appear to be of a mixed origin, a result that it is in coincidence with a
previous study based on mtDNA analysis". Crete is an island, so it has reproductively isolated populations that are a mix of several subspecies. But my vote is Apis mellifera adami.

http://zoologie.umons.ac.be/hymenoptera/biblio/01500/Bouga_2005_Apis_Greek.pdf

Barry Goldman
combination of stories?

shining bronze makes me think of halictid bees. (but i don't think they make honey)

there are also legends about bees (i.e. from samson story about bee hive in animal carcass) that are actually about (syrphid?) flies that mimic stripy bees.

i can't tell if any of the iridescent Halictids (sweat bees) live in the mediterranean.

@alexwild ?? any ideas?
@Alex Wild
Alex Wild
They’d pretty much have to be honey bees, Apis mellifera.
Ioannis
the two nannies feeding baby Zeus in Crete were the nymphs Amalthea and Melissa (which means honeybee in Greek). And Melissa was controlling the honeybees bringing honey directly in the mouth of Zeus. I don’t know which species they were, but here is a Minoan jewel from the archeological museum of Heraklion with two bees harvesting a pollen ball (or preparing a honey drop). (1800-1650 BC).
Gold jewel with two honeybees touchions heads and tails to form a circle, with a ball of pollen (or a drop of honey) in the centre.
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