Several geographical races of the oriental honeybee (A.Cerana) occupy the vast Asian mainland. They possess different behavioural characteristics, particularly those contributing to the bees' capacity for survival. Among the major behavioural characteristics exercising a direct influence on colony management are migration, absconding, colony reproduction rate, colony population size, foraging and food-storage behaviour. The following paragraph from FAO’s publication Beekeeping in Asia provides guidelines on obtaining a colony with A. Cerana.