With such close ties between wild and captive honey bees, it might seem like they"re not really domesticated at all. However, Lecocq believes this is not the case. There are some populations for which humans control the majority of the life cycle, he explains – and others, such as the Buckfast breed, have been selectively bred into existence. "So yes in my mind, we can say that honey bees are currently undergoing the domestication process," he says.