Evidence of reproductive isolation confirms that Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858) is a separate species from sympatric Apis florea (Fabricius, 1787).

The species Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858), the small dwarf honey bee of South-east Asia, is recognized as a valid biological species. This recognition is based on distinctive endophallus characteristics in comparison with sympatric Apis florea (Fabricius, 1787). Additionally, scanning electron microscope images of drone basitarsi are presented, as are preliminary comparisons of wing venation

Comparative anatomy of male genital organs in the genus Apis.

Comparative morphological studies of male genitalia from 6 honey bee species revealed distinct qualitative differences in each species in both everted endophalli and endophalli in situ. The endophalli in situ can be studied in drones preserved in ethanol. The following characters are most suitable for classification in situ: 1) pattern of the ventral hairy field of the vestibulum; 2) number of folds and hairy patches of the ventral cervix; 3) form of the dorsal hairy field of the cervix; and 4) the form of its appendage (lobe). Three types of endophalli can be classified. One type is present in the cavity-nesting honeybees A mellifera, A cerana and A koschevnikovi, the second in the free-nesting dwarf honeybees A andreniformis and A florea and the third in the A dorsata complex

Mating and sperm transfer in Apis florea

International audienc

Levels of polyandry and intracolonial genetic relationships in Apis florea

International audienceDNA was extracted from worker and drone pupae of each of five colonies of the dwarf honey bee Apis florea. Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were conducted on DNA extracts using five sets of primers known to amplify microsatellite loci in A. mellifera. Based on microsatellite allele distributions, queens of the five colonies mated with at least 5–14 drones. This is up to 3 times previous maximum estimates obtained from sperm counts. The discrepancy between sperm count and microsatellite estimates of the number of matings in A. florea suggests that despite direct injection of semen into the spermatheacal duct, either A. florea drones inject only a small proportion of their semen, or queens are able to rapidly expel excess semen after mating. A model of sexual selection (first proposed by Koeniger and Koeniger) is discussed in which males attempt to gain reproductive dominance by increasing ejaculate volume and direct injection of spermatozoa into the spermatheca, while queens attempt to maintain polyandry by retaining only a small fraction of each male's ejaculate. It is shown, at least in this limited sample, that the effective number of matings is lower in A. florea than in A. mellifera