Identification of Africanized honey bees through wing morphometrics: two fast and efficient procedures

Abstract

-Currently available morphometric and genetic techniques that can accurately identify Africanized honey bees are both costly and time consuming. We tested two new morphometric techniques (ABIS -Automatic Bee Identification System and geometric morphometrics analysis) on samples consisting of digital images of five worker forewings per colony. These were collected from 394 colonies of Africanized bees from all over Brazil and from colonies of African bees, Apis mellifera scutellata (n = 14), and European bees, A. m. ligustica (n = 10), A. m. mellifera (n = 15), and A. m. carnica (n=15) from the Ruttner collection in Oberursel, Germany (preserved specimens). Both methods required less than five minutes per sample, giving more than 99% correct identifications. There was just one misidentification (based on geometric morphometrics analysis) of Africanized bees compared with European subspecies, which would be the principal concern in newly-colonized areas, such as the southern USA. These new techniques are inexpensive, fast and precise.Africanized honey bee / morphometrics / geometric morphometrics analysis / ABIS / Apis mellifera / automatic identification

Discrimination of haploid and diploid males of Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera; Apidae) based on wing shape

“…Geometric morphometrics have been used previously to discriminate bees at different taxonomic levels (e.g., Aytekin et al 2007;Francoy et al 2008;Michez et al 2009;De Meulemeester et al 2012). Here, we show that bumble bee castes and diploid males can also be discriminated based on their wing shape with high HR.…”

“…Wings were analyzed by geometric morphometric procedures, which quantify and analyze the overall shape of a structure (Bookstein 1991;Rohlf and Marcus 1993;Zelditch et al 2004;. Morphometric studies of bees have focused on wing shape and venation because wings are flat, rigid 2D structures with many homologous landmarks that are diagnostic at multiple taxonomic levels (e.g., Francoy et al 2008;Michez et al 2009;De Meulemeester et al 2012;Dewulf et al 2014). Our method is cheap, fast, and renders the possibility of assessing male ploidy not only in freshly collected specimens but also in pin-mounted museum specimens for which biomolecular analysis is often impeded due to inadequate preservation.…”

Bee’s morphometrics and behavior in response to seasonal effects from ecoregions

“…This has promoted morphophysiological and behavioral variability among these groups and resulted in the development of typical ecotypes that fit various climatic domains (Meixner et al, 2010). In this context, geometric morphometrics is an accurate and inexpensive tool (Francoy et al, 2008) for the study of the differences among populations of bees. Geometric morphometrics can be used to determine the relationships between the causes and consequences of variations in the adjustment of individuals to their natural habitat (Lawing and Polly, 2010).…”

Variation morphogeometrics of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Brazil

“…Several studies have been carried out on Apis mellifera to differentiate subspecies regarding geometric morphometrical features, using programs of automatic identification (francoy et al, 2006, 2008Tofilski, 2008). This species is described as an example of a bee species endowed with important features, such as fast development and adaptation, rusticity, high capacity for honey and propolis production, better capacity for food source identification, efficient pollinating features and disease resistance (Gonçalves, 2006).…”

“…This technique is suitable, fast and less costly, besides the anatomical marks allow to identify morphometrical variations between the homologous morphological structure in different organisms (francoy et al, 2008;francoy & iMperaTiz-fonseca, 2010) and are more accessible to apiarists (Tofilsky, 2008).…”