Biodiversity of Apis cerana Fabricius in the Philippines
2002
Cervancia, C.R.
There are eight known species of honey bees in the world. These are Apis cerana Linnaeus, A. dorsata Fabricius, A. andreniformis Smith, A. florea Fabricius, A. nuluensis (Tingek, Koeniger, Koeniger), A. laboriosa Smith, A. nigrocincta Smith and A. mellifera Linnaeus. Indigenous to the Philippines are A. cerana, A. andreniformis and A. dorsata. There are indications that A. nigrocincta is present in the island of Mindanao. An introduced species, A. mellifera is widely used in commercial beekeeping. There are at least four populations of A. cerana in the Philippines, based on morphometric and mt DNA analyses. Bees from Palawan are unequivocably distinct and separate from other Philippine A. cerana. Luzon bees differ from those of Visayas and Mindanao. Within Luzon, bees from highland differ from those in the lowland and are regarded as separate groups. Bees from Visayas and Mindanao are very variable which indicate their potential for sub-structuring. A total of 68 pollen types from 41 families were identified. The pollen spectra diversity has no relation with geographical origin. Bees can be conserved by habitat preservation and minimizing introduction of exotic species
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