Phylogeography of the Giant Honeybees Based on Mitochondrial Gene Sequences

Abstract

We carried out a phylogenetic analysis of the giant honeybees using mitochondrial COI and COII gene sequences analyzed with maximum likelihood methods. Our goal was to resolve phylogenetic relationships among Apis laboriosa, and the Apis dorsata subspecies: A. d. dorsata, A. d. binghami, and A. d. breviligula, the last two of which have been proposed as full species by several authors. We obtained strong support for four clades within A. dorsata: the three subspecies mentioned above, and a fourth from south India, but our analysis did not resolve the phylogenetic relationships among the four clades within A. dorsata in the broad sense. Recognition of these distinct lineages is important for conservation planning, so that their individual ecologies and migration patterns can be taken into account.