Multivariate morphometric analyses of Apis cerana Fabricius, 1793 across its full geographical range were performed. Principal components plots did not reveal distinct morphoclusters. Further substructuring of the principal component plots could not initially be derived but only by introducing local labelling did it reveal six main morphoclusters. We apply geographically based common epithets to the morphoclusters and designate them as: as "Northern cerana", "Himalayan cerana" "Indian plains cerana" "Indochinese cerana" "Philippine cerana" and "Indo-Malayan cerana". A. cerana naturally occurs in climatic zones ranging from rainforest, savanna, steppe, grasslands and deciduous forest to taiga. The distributions of the morphoclusters are related to these physiographic and climatic factors. The taxonomy of A. cerana is formally revised and synonymous specific and infraspecific names summarized. Apis cerana / subspecies / morphometrics / biogeography
It has been known that Indonesia has the most diverse honey bee species in the world. At least five out of nine species of honey bees are native to Indonesia namely Apis andreniformis, A. dorsata, A. cerana, A. koschevnikovi, and A. nigrocincta. One species, A. florea, although it was claimed to be a species native to Indonesia, it is still debatable whether it is really found in Indonesia or not. The new species, A. nuluensis, which is found in Sabah, Borneo is likely to be found in Kalimantan but it has not confirmed yet. This paper discusses briefly the differences among those native honey bees.
-Morphometric analyses of Apis cerana workers from 123 localities in oceanic Asia were made on the whole oceanic group, within specific island systems, and specific mainland-oceanic island "interfaces". Principal component analysis of the total oceanic database yielded two distinct morphoclusters: (1) the bees of Japan and morphocluster and (2) the bees of all the other islands. Discriminant and hierarchical cluster analyses showed overlapping regional clusters in the latter: 2.1 the bees of the Philippines (except Palawan) and some Indonesia, 2.2 bees of Palawan, Malaysian Borneo, Kalimantan, Sumatera and some Sulawesi (Indonesia), and 2.3 most of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hainan (China) and Sri Lanka. Significant differences between the means of the four groups were demonstrated using Wilks' lambda statistic. The Mahalanobis distances among the honeybee samples are consistent with cyclical, geological rises and falls of sea level between present and Pleistocene land areas.
Apis cerana / morphometrics / biogeography / islands
The Danau Sentarum National Park (DSNP) is one of the forest honey production center in West Kalimantan Province by average production of 20-25 tons annually. However, during three consecutive years i.e in 2009-2012, harvesting failures occured in the DSNP, even no honey was produced in 2012. To find out the causes of harvesting failure we analyzed honey bees supply in relation to climatic conditions, and other abiotic factors based on the data from primary and secondary sources collected on June 2013 through a survey of public opinion and literature review. Purposive sampling method was used to determined the sample of respondents; they were honey collectors living inside (4 locations) and outside (2 locations) DSNP. Data were collected through questionnaires, public discussion, and in-depth interview with key figures of honey collectors. Data of climatic condition and abiotic factors were obtained from literature and goverment agencies. There were 55 repondents selected randomly among honey collectors involved in the study. The study showed that honey harvesting failure due to the declining populations of Apis dorsata colony and the decreasing beeforage resources. Forest fires in 2009, 2011, and 2012 as well as floods in 2010 were the causes of the declining populations of bees and the interfering of forest plants flowering season
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.