Abstract
The Morphological Characteristics Of Honeybees, Apis Mellifera Of The Central Anatolia, Black-Sea Passage And Ardahan Isolated Regions
Many morphologically and physiologically different forms of honeybee - ecotypes - ha¬ve evolved in the closed regions of Anatolia which differ from each other on climate and topography. This research concerned itself with such morphlogical characteristics as the
width and color of tergit, width and index of tomentum, hair length, cubital index, wing di-mensions and index, number of hamuli, length of hind leg, tarsal index and the length of proboscis, to identify the honeybee forms found in Central Anatolia, Ardahan and Black- Sea Passage Regions. The results show that the Anatolian bees differ morphologically from neighbouring bee populations like Cypria, Syriaca which are claimed to be the ancestors. Therefore, it seems possible to isolate a standart race indigenous to Anatolia. Honeybees of the passage region are not to be considered a race as they do not show uniformity, whereas Ardahan bees are homogenous and almost all measurements are found to be within the li¬mits for A.m. caucasica which is internationally ackonwledged as the standart race.
Keywords
A.m. anatolica A.m. caucasica morphological characteristics