Taxonomy
Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Apinae
Tribe: Apini Latreille, 1802
Genus: Apis Linnaeus, 1758
Subgenus: Apis (Apis) Linnaeus, 1758
Species: Apis koschevnikovi Enderlein, 1906
Common names: red honey bee, red hive bee, red cavity nesting honey bee
Overview
Apis koschevnikovi is somewhat distinctive due to its reddish
metasoma and legs. It is also known as the red bee of Sabah; however, according to
Hadisoesilo et al. (2008), its color changes with its distribution. It is pale reddish in the Sabah State or Borneo, Malaysia, but it has a dark, more coppery color in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, Indonesia. The body size of the worker is moderate (forewing length between 7.5–9 mm). Drones of
A. koschevnikovi have a mating flight time that is different to the
sympatric A. cerana drones (Koeniger et al. 1988).
A. koschevnikovi is the host of the mite
Varroa rinderi (De Guzman and Delfinado-
Baker 1996).
Diagnostic characteristics
Host associations
As with all species of honey bees, A. koschevnikovi is a generalist and will exploit a large variety of plant resources for food.
Nesting behavior
Like all species in the subgenus Apis (Apis), nests of A. koschevnikovi are built in cavities (Rinderer et al. 1989). Drone cell caps have a distinctive pore.
Very little is known about the biology, ecology, and natural history of this species (Rinderer et al. 1989); however, Engel (2012) reported that it prefers tropical evergreen forests.
Distribution
The red honey bee can be found in Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Kalimatan (Tingek et al. 1996, Radloff et al. 2011, Gupta 2014). According to Rinderer (1988), the range and the population size of A. koschevnikovi are among the most important issues that require study for this species.

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.
Fig 1, Apis koschevnikovi female face, photo: T. Brady
Fig 2, Apis koschevnikovi female lateral habitus, photo: T. Brady
Fig 3, Apis koschevnikovi female abdomen, photo: T. Brady
Fig 4, Apis koschevnikovi drone face, photo: T. Brady
Fig 5, Apis koschevnikovi drone lateral habitus, photo: T. Brady
Fig 6, Apis koschevnikovi drone abdomen, photo: T. Brady
Fig 7, Apis koschevnikovi female scutellum and axilla, photo: T. Brady
Fig 8, Apis koschevnikovi female hind leg, photo: T. Brady
Fig 9, Apis koschevnikovi drone, photo: A.H. Smith-Pardo
Fig 10, Apis koschevnikovi female, photo: A.H. Smith-Pardo
Fig 11, Apis koschevnikovi female terminalia, photo: A.H. Smith-Pardo