Morphological Variation and Distribution of Honeybees Apis Mellifera (L) Across Altitudinal Gradient in Selected Areas of Tanzania

Abstract

The study aimed at determining morphological variations and distribution of honeybee populations along altitudinal gradient of Tanzania. Samples of the honeybees were collected from 93 feral colonies from sea level to 3000m above sea level.  Twenty characters from right hind legs and forewings were measured for morphometric analysis. The descriptive analysis of the same characters by both Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Factor Analysis (DFA) showed weak correlation with altitude. On the other hand, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the 20 characters indicated that only 45% of the characters had significant variations. Among the measured parameters, only wing distance L4 and fibula length (FL) varied in all populations. Characters L2, D7, E9 and O26 varied significantly (P>0.05) only between populations 1 and 2; and character L3 between populations 2 and 3.  Besides, there was high overlap in both scattergram and visualization space analyses, suggesting increased intermixing among the populations. However, a further study by using other analytical tools such as molecular analysis was required.

Keywords: Morphological Variation, Distribution, Honeybees

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/12-12-04

Publication date:June 30^th 2022