Comparative morphometric studies between black and yellow strains of Indian honeybee - Apis cerana

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the morphological differences between the strains of the Apis cerana honey bee revealed that there were no major variations with morphology of black and yellow morphs but the proboscis length and number of hamuli on forewing showed some differences. The black and yellow morphs are reproductively isolated and differ slightly in two morphological characteristics out of the 13 examined. The study establishes that without any geographic restriction, population at higher and lower elevations exhibited differences in these two morphological characteristics of honey bees.