Abstract
The morphometrics of the honey bee Apis mellifera L., 1758 has been widely studied mainly because this species has great ecological importance, high adaptation capacity, wide distribution and capacity to effectively adapt to different regions. The current study aimed to investigate the morphometric variations of wings and pollen baskets of honey bees Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier, 1836 from the five regions in Brazil. We used geometric morphometrics to identify the existence of patterns of variations of shape and size in Africanized honey bees in Brazil 16 years after the classic study with this species, allowing a temporal and spatial comparative analysis using new technological resources to assess morphometrical data. Samples were collected in 14 locations in Brazil, covering the five geographical regions of the country. The shape analysis and multivariate analyses of the wing allowed to observe that there is a geographical pattern among the population of Apis mellifera in Brazil. The geographical variations may be attributed to the large territorial extension of the country in addition to the differences between the bioregions.
Highlights
Many races and subspecies of Apis mellifera occur in a wide range of natural distribution, and differ from one another in many behavioral and morphological features (Tofilski, 2008)
The similar environmental conditions between Brazil and Africa have greatly facilitated the adaptation of African honey bees to Brazil in addition to the capacity of the African subspecies to imprint some adaptive advantages to the offspring, ensuring the expansion of the Africanized honey bee throughout the Americas (Garcia & Couto, 2005)
The shape is defined in the morphometrical analysis based on the configurations of points that alter in terms of size, position and direction in the wing (Monteiro & Reis, 1999)
Summary
Many races and subspecies of Apis mellifera occur in a wide range of natural distribution, and differ from one another in many behavioral and morphological features (Tofilski, 2008). The wide geographical distribution and environmental heterogeneity in the American continent and the differences among species of the Africanized bees may help to better understand the micro-evolutionary processes involving population differentiation. Several studies have been carried out on Apis mellifera to differentiate subspecies regarding geometric morphometrical features, using programs of automatic identification (Francoy et al, 2006, 2008; Tofilski, 2008). This species is described as an example of a bee species endowed with important features, such as fast development and adaptation, rusticity, high capacity for honey and propolis production, better capacity for food source identification, efficient pollinating features and disease resistance (Gonçalves, 2006). Morphometrics involves a group of techniques that allow to deduct evolutionary processes from spatial standards and to test these theories to explain the “Africanization” of Apis mellifera populations in the Neotropical region (Diniz-Filho & Malaspina, 1995), Iheringia, Série Zoologia, Porto Alegre, 102(3):321326 de setembro de 2012
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