Are there examples of Apis mellifera of different colors? Re: my previous species-identification question, What species is this gray bee? I'm still curious: Are there any recorded/reported cases of either albino _Apis mellifera_ , or at least with substantially different pigmentation/color? Is it possible that only part of a colony gets this trait?

I've been reading a little more, and found a partial answer.

Not sure about albinoes, but Wikipedia lists a few different colors, arguably _substantially_ different:

Under _Apis mellifera_ subsp. _ligustica_ (the Italian honeybee),

* Leather
* Bright yellow (golden)
* Very pale yellow



Under _Apis melliferacaucasia_ (Caucasian honeybee),

* Dark with brown spots at times



In fact, both photos below are reported as _Apis mellifera_ , here and here respectively. ![enter image description here]( ![enter image description here](