The Cape honey bee (Apis mellifera capensis) is a distinctive subspecies of the western honey bee confined to the southernmost provinces of South Africa. It is perhaps the most interesting of all honey bee variants. Despite a surge of research into Cape honey bees in recent decades, it remains an enigma, its very nature a matter of speculation and dispute. It is simultaneously misunderstood, maligned and captivating. While the definition of Cape honey bees remains elusive, it is generally characterized as the population of small, dark honey bees that is restricted to the fynbos plant biome of the Cape coast in South Africa, bounded by the Cape Fold Mountains  to the north and the Atlantic and Indian oceans to the south and the west). Its distribution has in the past been viewed as sufficiently restricted to warrant Cape honey bees being considered as endangered and to motivate for the establishment of sanctuaries to ensure their survival.