SCREENING SUBSPECIES STATUS OF HONEY BEE WORKERS COLLECTED FROM SOME QUEEN REARING STATIONS UTILIZING GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS

The Egyptian honey bees, Apis mellifera lamarckii, in Egypt have been exposed to hybridization since the 1930s with other subspecies, especially Apis mellifera carnica (Carniolan bees). Current beekeeping practices are shaping the expectation that local honey bee stocks are distinct from the Egyptian subspecies, A. m. lamarckii. In this study, bee workers were collected from five queen-rearing stations located in four governorates: Gharbia, Alexandria, El-Behera, and Monufia. These samples underwent geometric morphometrics analysis to determine the subspecies they belong to with the highest probability. To achieve this, the forewings were separated and analyzed against a database that includes various honey bee subspecies found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. During sampling, workers that were accompanying bee queens were specifically selected. It is well-known that queen-rearing stations serve as sources for new queens for most apiaries, thereby aiding in the dissemination of a particular subspecies within local apiaries in Egypt. The majority of the samples exhibited a high probability of being Carniolan bees. Some samples showed relatedness to other bee subspecies in Africa and Europe, with only one sample displaying relatedness to A. m. lamarckii. This study supports the hybrid status of the bees collected from the queen-rearing stations and sheds light on the diminishing characteristics of indigenous bees in the studied samples due to hybridization with other subspecies over an extended period. Further studies are recommended to include other morphological characteristics and analysis approaches to delve deeper into the traits of local bee stocks.