Apis mellifera meda
| Apis mellifera meda | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Apis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | A. m. meda
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Apis mellifera meda Skorikov 1929[1]
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
|
Apis mellifera remipesBodenheimer 1941 via. Gerstácker | |
Apis mellifera medais known by thecommon namesof theMedian honey beeor theIranian honey bee.Its range covers the non desert areas of most ofIranandIraq,but also into southeastern Turkey, across northern Syria as far as the coast of the Mediterranean. Colonies have been observed in theAzarbaijan Iranianhighlands at elevations up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft).[1][2]Initially based onmorphometricevaluation, but then later confirmed with DNA analysis, they belong to the O Lineage (meaning Oriental, from the Near East region) ofApis mellifera.[3]
The appearance of theA. m. medagreatly resembles theApis mellifera ligustica,to such an extent that identification using standardmorphometricanalysis requires additional measurements to be taken; however, itsscutellum(an area of the upper rearthorax) is bright yellow, unlike theA. m. ligusticain which it is predominantly dark.[2]
TheA. m. medahas a reputation for a strong swarming tendency, but only with a moderate swarm cell production of 10 to 20 cells. Its adaption to long winters is presumed due to the fact that, for example, theZagros Mountains(covering much of its range) can have days with frost for six months of the year. They appear to be heavy users ofpropolis,and are quick to be alarmed and show aggression towards intruders near the hive, but with a greater tendency to pursue (up to 200m) in the south Iraq region, than the north Azerbaijan Iran region.[2]
References
[edit]- ^abMichael S Engel (1999)."The taxonomy of recent and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Apis)".Journal of Hymenoptera Research.8(2): 180.Retrieved7 February2023.
- ^abcdProfessor Dr.Friedrich Ruttner(1988).Biogeography and Taxonomy of Honeybees.Springer-Verlag. pp. 163–257.ISBN978-3-642-72651-4.Retrieved7 February2023.
- ^Dr. Smith, A. Slaymaker, M. Palmer, O. Kaftanoglu. (1997)."Turkish honey bees belong to the east Mediterranean mitochondrial lineage"(PDF).Apidologie.28(5): 269–278.doi:10.1051/apido:19970503.Retrieved7 February2023.
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