Position of the Red Honey bee, Apis koschevnikovi (Buttel-Reepen 1906), within the Genus Apis

Abstract

The "Red Bee" of Borneo, described in 1988 by Koeniger et al. and Tingek et al. as a separate species, was first named by H. v. Buttel-Reepen in 1906. The correct name, therefore, is Apis koschevnikovi Buttel-Reepen 1906 and not Apis vechti Maa 1953. By multivariate analysis (PCA and DA) Apis koschevnikovi can clearly be separated from the 2 other cavity-nesting Apis species. Although A. koschevnikovi is very similar to A. cerana phenotypically, it is much larger than bees of this species from a similar geographic latitude, corresponding in size to equatorial populations of A. mellifera from Africa.