Venomics to Therapeutics: Decoding the Pharmacological Web of Giant Asian Honeybee Venom

Honeybees are ecologically indispensable pollinators and an important resource for biologically active natural products. Among honeybee taxa, Apis dorsata (the giant Asian honeybee) is a wild, open-nesting species distributed across South and Southeast Asia that displays distinct behavioral and ecological traits compared with domesticated species such as Apis mellifera and Apis cerana. Despite its ecological prominence and frequent human–bee interactions, A. dorsata has received comparatively little molecular characterization, and its venom proteome remains poorly described. This work establishes a foundational molecular inventory for A. dorsata venom and underscores the species’ value as a source of novel bioactive compounds for future biochemical and pharmacological exploration.