oa African Entomology - Multivariate analysis of honeybees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), of the Horn of Africa

Abstract

Morphometric characters and sting pheromones of worker honeybees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, were analysed by multivariate methods to delineate the honeybee populations of the Horn of Africa. Four discrete and statistically homogeneous populations were identified: A. m. jemenitica Ruttner, A. m. bandasii Mogga, A. m. sudanensis Rashad in Ethiopia and an unclassified group in southwestern Somalia. Areas of high intercolonial variance are interpreted as zones of hybridization between the populations.