The Buzz Changes within Time: Native Apis mellifera mellifera Honeybee Subspecies Less and Less Popular among Polish Beekeepers Since 1980

Bieńkowska, Małgorzata; Splitt, Aleksandra; Węgrzynowicz, Paweł; Maciorowski, Robert

doi:10.3390/agriculture11070652

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Over 67.1% of the colonies had wing venation patterns more similar to the C-lineage A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica, to the O-lineage A. m. caucasia, and to the M-lineage A. m. iberiensis than to A. m. mellifera. While A. m. iberiensis could be confounded with A. m. mellifera, detection of the other three subspecies is compatible with the existence of a natural hybrid zone in southern Poland, where the three lineages come together [49], as well as with long-standing importations of foreign queens [34,63]. However, detection of a high proportion of wings assigned with high probability to A. m. ligustica was unexpected, as molecular studies largely reported in Poland the presence of A. m. carnica, but not of the Italian bee [39,58].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Using the Software DeepWings© to Classify Honey Bees across Europe through Wing Geometric Morphometrics

García

Rodrigues

Tofilski

et al. 2022

Insects

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DeepWings© is a software that uses machine learning to automatically classify honey bee subspecies by wing geometric morphometrics. Here, we tested the five subspecies classifier (A. m. carnica, Apis mellifera caucasia, A. m. iberiensis, Apis mellifera ligustica, and A. m. mellifera) of DeepWings© on 14,816 wing images with variable quality and acquired by different beekeepers and researchers. These images represented 2601 colonies from the native ranges of the M-lineage A. m. iberiensis and A. m. mellifera, and the C-lineage A. m. carnica. In the A. m. iberiensis range, 92.6% of the colonies matched this subspecies, with a high median probability (0.919). In the Azores, where the Iberian subspecies was historically introduced, a lower proportion (85.7%) and probability (0.842) were observed. In the A. m mellifera range, only 41.1 % of the colonies matched this subspecies, which is compatible with a history of C-derived introgression. Yet, these colonies were classified with the highest probability (0.994) of the three subspecies. In the A. m. carnica range, 88.3% of the colonies matched this subspecies, with a probability of 0.984. The association between wing and molecular markers, assessed for 1214 colonies from the M-lineage range, was highly significant but not strong (r = 0.31, p < 0.0001). The agreement between the markers was influenced by C-derived introgression, with the best results obtained for colonies with high genetic integrity. This study indicates the good performance of DeepWings© on a realistic wing image dataset.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Using the Software DeepWings© to Classify Honey Bees across Europe through Wing Geometric Morphometrics

García

Rodrigues

Tofilski

et al. 2022

Insects

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“…Espregueira Themudo et al (2020) showed that the genetic diversity of European honey bees had been reduced within a few decades, possibly by selection and breeding for specific traits, and by abandoning the local stock. While it is difficult to obtain reliable estimates of the proportion of beekeepers actively using artificial selection, surveys reporting voluntary replacements and purchase of queens point to high numbers in Europe (Gray et al, 2020;Bieńkowska et al, 2021). Selection and breeding aiming for varroa resistance traits might cause the loss of additional genetic information.…”

Section: Domestication Versus Natural Selection: Impacts On Genetic D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Diversity Decline in Wild and Managed Honey Bee Populations Urges for an Integrated Conservation Approach

et al. 2022

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Many parts of the globe experience severe losses and fragmentation of habitats, affecting the self-sustainability of pollinator populations. A number of bee species coexist as wild and managed populations. Using honey bees as an example, we argue that several management practices in beekeeping threaten genetic diversity in both wild and managed populations, and drive population decline. Large-scale movement of hive stocks, introductions into new areas, breeding programs and trading of queens contribute to reducing genetic diversity, as recent research demonstrated for wild and managed honey bees within a few decades. Examples of the effects of domestication in other organisms show losses of both genetic diversity and fitness functions. Cases of natural selection and feralization resulted in maintenance of a higher genetic diversity, including in a Varroa destructor surviving population of honey bees. To protect the genetic diversity of honey bee populations, exchange between regions should be avoided. The proposed solution to selectively breed all local subspecies for a use in beekeeping would reduce the genetic diversity of each, and not address the value of the genetic diversity present in hybridized populations. The protection of Apis mellifera’s, Apis cerana’s and Apis koschevnikovi’s genetic diversities could be based on natural selection. In beekeeping, it implies to not selectively breed but to leave the choice of the next generation of queens to the colonies, as in nature. Wild populations surrounded by beekeeping activity could be preserved by allowing Darwinian beekeeping in a buffer zone between the wild and regular beekeeping area.

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“…In North America, most honey bees are hybrids of these two historically imported strains, and key selection traits in United States (US) breeding programs are productivity and resistance traits to certain pathogens (Saelao et al, 2020). In Northern Europe, the favored use of South-European honey bees has led to multiple admixture events between subspecies and the extinction of native honey bees (Bieńkowska et al, 2021;Ruttner, 1995). Furthermore, these bees are also threatened by the widespread use of stabilized hybrid strains such as Buckfast (Adam, 1983;Bieńkowska et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Northern Europe, the favored use of South-European honey bees has led to multiple admixture events between subspecies and the extinction of native honey bees (Bieńkowska et al, 2021;Ruttner, 1995). Furthermore, these bees are also threatened by the widespread use of stabilized hybrid strains such as Buckfast (Adam, 1983;Bieńkowska et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of runs of homozygosity in Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) using whole‐genome sequencing data

Gmel

Guichard

Dainat

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Runs of homozygosity (ROH) are continuous homozygous segments that arise through the transmission of haplotypes that are identical by descent. The length and distribution of ROH segments provide insights into the genetic diversity of populations and can be associated with selection signatures. Here, we analyzed reconstructed whole‐genome queen genotypes, from a pool‐seq data experiment including 265 Western honeybee colonies from Apis mellifera mellifera and Apis mellifera carnica. Integrating individual ROH patterns and admixture levels in a dynamic population network visualization allowed us to ascertain major differences between the two subspecies. Within A. m. mellifera, we identified well‐defined substructures according to the genetic origin of the queens. Despite the current applied conservation efforts, we pinpointed 79 admixed queens. Genomic inbreeding (FROH) strongly varied within and between the identified subpopulations. Conserved A. m. mellifera from Switzerland had the highest mean FROH (3.39%), while queens originating from a conservation area in France, which were also highly admixed, showed significantly lower FROH (0.45%). The majority of A. m. carnica queens were also highly admixed, except 12 purebred queens with a mean FROH of 2.33%. Within the breed‐specific ROH islands, we identified 14 coding genes for A. m. mellifera and five for A. m. carnica, respectively. Local adaption of A. m. mellifera could be suggested by the identification of genes involved in the response to ultraviolet light (Crh‐BP, Uvop) and body size (Hex70a, Hex70b), while the A. m. carnica specific genes Cpr3 and Cpr4 are most likely associated with the lighter striping pattern, a morphological phenotype expected in this subspecies. We demonstrated that queen genotypes derived from pooled workers are useful tool to unravel the population dynamics in A. mellifera and provide fundamental information to conserve native honey bees.

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The Buzz Changes within Time: Native Apis mellifera mellifera Honeybee Subspecies Less and Less Popular among Polish Beekeepers Since 1980

Cited by 5 publications

References 40 publications

Using the Software DeepWings© to Classify Honey Bees across Europe through Wing Geometric Morphometrics

Using the Software DeepWings© to Classify Honey Bees across Europe through Wing Geometric Morphometrics

The Diversity Decline in Wild and Managed Honey Bee Populations Urges for an Integrated Conservation Approach

Identification of runs of homozygosity in Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) using whole‐genome sequencing data

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