Apis mellifera
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Ordo: Hymenoptera
Familia: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Name
Apis mellifera Linnaeus – Wikispecies link – Pensoft Profile
Description and distinguishing features
Honeybees are larger than most wild bees in the islands (total length 11–13 mm in workers, 13–16 mm in males; wing length 9–10 mm in workers and 12–13,5 mm in males) but can be confused with some syrphid flies (e.g., Eristalis tenax). They differ from superficially similar Megachile by their pollen-collecting mode: scopae on the legs (Fig. 10), not abdominal brushes.
General distribution
Probably native to the Mediterranean region but kept by beekeepers in temperate regions worldwide for honey production.
Distribution in the Azores
Apiculture is declining in the Azores (maybe as a result of accidental introduction of Varroa destructor mites) but honeybee colonies are still kept on all islands; in 2010, the number of bee colonies in the Azores was c. 3850, belonging to 255 beekeepers (source: Paulo Miranda at http://montedomel.blogspot.de).
First record
16th century (Frutuoso 2005[1]); according to Marques (cited in Crane 1999[2]: 219) “[b]eekeeping was started in 1554 (…), the bees probably being taken there from Portugal.”
Nesting
Today, honeybees are not known to occur as escaped/feral bees in the archipelago but Drouët (1861)[3] reported wild honeybees from São Miguel.
Social behaviour
Highly eusocial.
Foraging
Polylectic.
Phenology
All year.
Material
São Miguel (Furnas) and Terceira (Monte Brasil), August-September 1930, leg. L. Chopard, det. Benoist (Benoist et al. 1936[4], not seen).
Note
De la Rúa et al. (2006)[5] analysed genetic diversity of Azorean honeybees and found a comparably low number of mitochondrial haplotypes, some of them shared with Madeiran honeybees, other probably recent introductions from the mainland.
Taxon Treatment
- Weissmann, J; Picanço, A; Borges, P; Schaefer, H; 2017: Bees of the Azores: an annotated checklist (Apidae, Hymenoptera) ZooKeys, (642): 63-95. doi
Images
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Other References
- ↑ Frutuoso G (2005) Livro quarto das saudades da terra. (1589). (Volume IV). Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada, Ponta Delgada, 554 pp.
- ↑ Crane E (1999) The world history of beekeeping and honey hunting. Routledge, New York, Abingdon, 704 pp.
- ↑ Drouët H (1861) Éléments de la faune açoréenne. Mémoires de la Société d’Agriculture, des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres du Département de l’Aube 12: 287–523.
- ↑ Benoist R, Berland L, Blüthgen P (1936) Voyage de MM. L. Chopard et A. Méquignon aux Açores (Août-Septembre 1930). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 105: 9–10.
- ↑ De la Rúa P, Galián J, Vest Pedersen B, Serrano J (2006) Molecular characterization and population structure of Apis mellifera from Madeira and the Azores. Apidologie 37: 699–708. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2006044
