Apis cerana japonica

Apis cerana japonica is a subspecies of the eastern honeybee in Japan. It is commonly known as the Japanese honeybee (Japanese: ニホンミツバチ, Hepburn: Nihon mitsubachi).

Traditionally, it has been believed that the ancestors of Japanese honeybees naturally migrated from the Korean Peninsula to Japan via Tsushima Island, and genetic differentiation between Japanese honeybees and Korean honeybees occurred about 20,000 years ago, which coincides with the separation of Japan's Tsushima Island from the Korean Peninsula due to sea level rise. However, the above natural distribution theory has been criticized for several issues, including problems with the application of the molecular clock hypothesis, the fact that even during the coldest period of the Last Glacial Maximum, the Korean Peninsula and Tsushima Island were not connected by a land bridge, and the inability to reasonably explain why the southward migration of honeybee would have stopped at Tsushima if such a land bridge had existed. Currently, based on careful investigation and analysis of ancient documents and records, the theory of artificial introduction is widely accepted, suggesting that the ancestors of Japanese honeybees were brought from the Korean Peninsula during the Imjin War by Oroshi Magojiro of Kii Province and Shimazu Yoshihiro of Satsuma Province and Ōsumi Province, along with Korean beekeeping technicians. Excluding the Nihon Shoki, it has been clarified that the creatures referred to as "honeybee" in documents prior to Imjin War were bumblebee or carpenter bee. Furthermore, the absence of any descriptions of honeybee, along with the fact that there is no word in the old Japanese meaning "honey," suggests that honeybee was not originally distributed in Japan. They have been observed moving into urban areas in the absence of natural predators.

A. c. japonica is very resistant to the mite Varroa jacobsoni, which is commonly found among A. cerana. It is also able to adapt to weather extremes, has a long flight duration and is less likely to sting than the western counterpart.

3-Hydroxyoctanoic acid is a signalling chemical emitted by the orchid Cymbidium floribundum and is recognized by Japanese honeybees.