The mountain bees of the Kilimanjaro region and their relation to neighbouring bee populations

Abstract

To study the nature of transition from one subspecies to another in a region without geographic barriers, 27 samples of honey bees were collected in the region of Arusha, Tanzania, at altitudes ranging from 800 to 2800 m, and morphometrically analyzed. Gradients of increasing size and hair length, with respect to increasing altitude, were found. Multivariate analysis, however, resulted in separation of two groups of samples, one below, the other above 2000 m, corresponding to two races, Apis mellifera scutellata and A.m.monticola. The monticola populations of Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru differ in two characteristics. The evolution of the disjunct monticola populations of East Africa is discussed in the light of well documented climatic changes during the Quartemary.