Morphometric studies on the microtaxonomy of the species Apis mellifera L

Abstract

A principal components analysis was performed on 252 samples of Apis mellifera collected from various geographic locations. The result is presented for the first time as a computer generated three-dimensional figure resembling a tripod, with each distinct branch and stem representing one of the four major regions: tropical Africa, western Mediterranean and northern Europe, central Mediterranean and southeastern Europe ending in A m carnica, and the Near East ending in A m caucasica.