Features of determining the subspecies status of honey bees (Apis mellifera) based on morphometric wing indicators of drones

Abstract

As of today, in Ukraine, there are no opportunities to conduct genetic research on a sufficient scale to identify the composition of the genomes of honey bees. Wing morphometrics of drones is a readily available alternative for obtaining information about the approximate composition of DNA. The goal of the work was to formulate the principles of the main stages of research and illustrate the procedure for obtaining morphometric data, methods of their processing, and possibilities for interpreting the obtained results. In the package of statistical data processing application programs Statistica, the classification of 2,147 drone wings obtained from 6 apiaries of Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv regions was carried out according to eight indices: Ci, Dbi, Disc.sh, Pci, Ri, Ci.3, Ci.2.1, and Ci.2.2. We propose a method for obtaining morphometric wing standards of bees based on studying a significant number of bee colonies from various apiaries in specific regions of Ukraine. Using a two-stage methodology, three datasets were formed and recommended for use as standards: one for the local population of Ukrainian bees and two for populations of the A.m.mellifera subspecies distributed in the Polissia region. We analyzed the reliability of results in determining the taxonomic affiliation of bees was analyzed. Using the example of a single bee colony, a detailed procedure is demonstrated to identify taxonomic affiliation through utilization of the obtained standards. It has been demonstrated that in case of reliable identification of standards belonging to specific subspecies, it is possible to predict the likely composition of chromosomal sets in the genomes of drones, queens, and worker bees partially corresponding to the wing phenotype.