Abstract
Apis cerana Fabricius is endemic to most of Asia, where it has been used for honey production and pollination services for thousands of years. Since the 1980s, A. cerana has been introduced to areas outside its natural range (namely New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Australia), which sparked fears that it may become a pest species that could compete with, and negatively affect, native Australian fauna and flora, as well as commercially kept A. mellifera and commercial crops. This literature review is a response to these concerns and reviews what is known about the ecology and behaviour of A. cerana. Differences between temperate and tropical strains of A. cerana are reviewed, as are A. cerana pollination, competition between A. cerana and A. mellifera, and the impact and control strategies of introduced A. cerana, with a particular focus on gaps of current knowledge.
Highlights
Apis cerana Fabricius is endemic to most ofAsia where it has been used for honey production and pollination services for thousands of years.A. cerana has been described as the exact equivalent of its European/African sister speciesA. mellifera, the European honeybee, showing as wide a range and capacity for variation and adaptation [1]
Following an intentional introduction of hives into West Papua in the 1980s, A. cerana has spread to areas outside its natural range, and the fear is that it may become a pest species that could compete with native Australian fauna and affect pollination of native flora
The literature review aimed to review the critical points of current knowledge about A. cerana in general and tropical A. cerana in particular, compare A. cerana and A. mellifera behaviour and ecology, review A. cerana control measures both overseas and in Australia, and highlight gaps in currently available literature and future research needs
Summary
Apis cerana Fabricius ( known as the Asian honeybee, Asiatic bee, Asian hive bee, Indian honeybee, Indian bee, Chinese bee, Mee bee, Eastern honeybee, and Fly Bee) is endemic to most of Asia where it has been used for honey production and pollination services for thousands of years. Similar to A. mellifera, A. cerana is genetically and morphologically subdivided into several strains that differ in their ecology and behaviour, between temperate and tropical strains. The literature review aims to clarify the ecology and behaviour of this tropical, Indo-Malayan strain in particular, very little is known and published about it. This literature review is divided into several sections, covering the distribution of A. cerana, its ecology and behaviour, pollination, A. cerana vs A. mellifera, and control strategies in place in Australia and elsewhere. Gaps in knowledge will be identified and recommendations for future research made
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