The European bee-eater was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Merops apiaster.

Before eating a bee, the European bee-eater removes the sting by repeatedly hitting the insect on a hard surface.

"[10] If an apiary is set up close to a bee-eater colony, a larger number of honey bees are eaten because they are more abundant.

However, studies show the bee-eaters do not intentionally fly into the apiary, rather they feed on the insects caught on pastures and meadows within a radius of 12 km (7.5 mi) from the colony, this maximum distance being reached only when there is a lack of food.

Observations show that the birds actually enter the apiary only in cold and rainy periods, when the bees do not leave the hive and other insect prey are harder for the bee-eaters to detect.

[11] Many bee-keepers believe that the bee-eaters are the main obstacle causing worker bees not to forage, and instead stay inside the hives for much of the day between May and the end of August.

However, a study carried out in eucalyptus forest in the Alalous region, 80 km (50 mi) east of Tripoli, Libya, showed that the bee-eaters were not the main obstacle of bee foraging, which is the opposite of what beekeepers think.

Hives close to or under trees or overhead cables are also at increased risk as the birds pounce on flying insects from these perches.