Apis mellifera sahariensis is a North African bee subspecies of the species Apis mellifera. It is closely related to Apis mellifera intermissa in the region.
Apis mellifera sahariensis is native to Sahara desert oasis habitats. This bee type adapted to the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) and other Saharan flora.Y Le Conte, M. Navajas scholar.google.com website Climate change: impact on honey bee populations and diseases Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz., 2008, 27 (2), 499-510 [Retrieved 2011-12-20]Taher Shaibi, Stefan Fuchs and Robin F. A. Moritz springerlink.com website Morphological study of Honeybees (Apis mellifera) from Libya Volume 40, Number 2, 97-105, [Retrieved 2011-12-20]
Saharan honeybee subspecies is adapted to extreme temperatures ($-10$°C to over 50°C), drought, and high altitudes. Researchers have sequenced its first complete mitochondrial genome using the Illumina HiSeq platform to enhance knowledge of bee phylogeny and mitogenomes.
See also Subspecies of Apis mellifera
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