Apis mellifera siciliana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Apidae
Genus: Apis
Species:
A. mellifera
Subspecies:
A. m. siciliana
Trinomial name
Apis mellifera siciliana
Engel 1999[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Apis siciliana (Grassi 1881)
  • Apis siciliana (Dalla Torre 1896)
  • Apis mellifica mellifica variety siziliana (Buttel-Reepen 1906)
  • Apis mellifera sicula (Montagano 1911)

Apis mellifera siciliana is known by the common name of the Sicilian honey bee which is endemic to the island of Sicily, Italy in the Mediterranean sea. It belongs to the A Lineage of honey bees from Africa, with close genetic relations to Apis mellifera sahariensis, Apis mellifera intermissa, and Apis mellifera ruttneri.[3]

In 2014 DNA analysis estimated that 39.1% of the islands bees were introgressed with DNA from the M Lineage (most likely the Apis mellifera mellifera) and the C Lineage (most likely the Apis mellifera ligustica, Apis mellifera carnica or the Buckfast bee), however the islands of Vulcano and Filicudi, which are conservation areas for the A. m. siciliana showed no signs of introgression, demonstrating their effectiveness at protecting and preserving the subspecies.[4]

References

  1. ^ Michael S Engel (1999). "The taxonomy of recent and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Apis)". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 8 (2): 180. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  2. ^ Michael S Engel (1999). "The taxonomy of recent and fossil honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae; Apis)". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 8 (2): 180. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. ^ D. Henriques, C. Costa, J. Rufino & M. A. Pinto (2022). "The mitochondrial genome of Apis mellifera siciliana". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 7 (5): 828–830. doi:10.1080/23802359.2022.2073844. PMC 9103510. PMID 35573597.((cite journal)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ I. Muñoz, R. Dall′Olio, M. Lodesani, P. De la Rúa (2014). "Estimating introgression in Apis mellifera siciliana populations: are the conservation islands really effective?". Insect Conservation and Diversity. 7 (6): 563–571. doi:10.1111/icad.12092. S2CID 84623030. Retrieved 29 January 2023.((cite journal)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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