East African coastal bee
| East African coastal bee | ||||||||||||
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| Apis mellifera litorea | ||||||||||||
| Smith , 1961 |
The East African coastal bee ( Apis mellifera litorea ) is a subspecies of the western honey bee Apis mellifera . Their distribution area are the lowlands of the East African coastal region from Somalia to Mozambique or northeastern South Africa .
Taxonomy
The western honeybee is divided into four race groups, which are morphologically and genetically distinguishable (based on the mitochondrial DNA sequences) and each have a separate distribution area: the western European, eastern European and African bees and the bees of the Middle East. In the past, the bees of tropical Africa were largely assigned to a broad breed called Apis mellifera adansonii . This differs from the northern races in that it is smaller, has a more yellow-orange tint and a number of behavioral characteristics. Later analyzes showed, however, that the bees of tropical Africa show greater differences among each other, which can be differentiated from each other as races or subspecies. The assignment to these subspecies is complex, however, and numerous features have to be offset against each other morphometrically . As a result, the bees in the lowlands of the East African coastal region can now be viewed as a separate form of Apis mellifera litorea . Their distribution area borders in the west on that of Apis mellifera scutellata and in the south of South Africa on that of A. m. capensis .
Ecology and behavior
The East African coastal bee is a small breed with yellow stripes. She is considered very eager to collect. Compared to European bee breeds, it is more aggressive towards approaches to the nest, which it perceives as a threat. In addition, African honey bees are generally more mobile. In addition to swarming during the production of the young queens, they also often relocate the nest location at other times. Such swarms of migration occur z. B. on lack of food, unfavorable microclimatic conditions at the nesting site and disturbances by predators.
See also
Web links
- Apis mellifera litorea . In: Atlas Hymenoptera , accessed January 6, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ^ Stanley Scott Schneider, Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, Deborah Roan Smith: The African Honey Bee: Factors Contributing to a Successful Biological Invasion. Annual Revue of Entomology (2004) 49: 351-376. doi : 10.1146 / annurev.ento.49.061802.123359
- ^ H. Randall Hepburn, Sarah E. Radloff: Honeybees of Africa. Springer Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3540642218
- ↑ HR Hepburn: Absconding, migration and swarming in honeybees: An ecological and evolutionary perspective. In: Vladilen E. Kipyatkov (Ed.): Life Cycles in Social Insects: Behavior, Ecology and Evolution. Proceedings of the International Symposium, St. Petersburg, Russia 22-27 September 2003. St. Petersburg University Press, St. Petersburg 2006, ISBN 5-288-04008-7