Apis andreniformis

Taxonomy

Family: Apidae
Subfamily: Apinae
Tribe: Apini Latreille, 1802
Genus: Apis Linnaeus, 1758
Subgenus: Apis (Micrapis) Ashmead, 1904
Species: Apis andreniformis Smith, 1858
Common name: black dwarf honey bee

Overview

Apis andreniformis, commonly known as the black dwarf honey bee, is the smallest of all species of honey bees (between 6.5 mm and 9.5-10 mm), and along with Apis florea constitute the subgenus Micrapis (or dwarf honey bees). Wongsiri, et al. (1996) listed all the differences among the two species in the subgenus (see also fact sheet for subgenus Apis (Micrapis)).

Diagnostic characteristics

The most reliable characteristics to distinguish between A. florea and A. andreniformis (Hepburn and Randloff 2011Hepburn and Randloff 2011:
Hepburn, H.R. and S.E. Randloff. 2011. Honeybees of Asia. Springer, Berlin. Xii+669p., Gupta 2014Gupta 2014:
Gupta, R.K. 2014. Taxonomy and distribution of different honeybee species. In: Gupta R.K., Reybroeck W., van Veen J. W. amp; A. Gupta (eds): Beekeeping for poverty alleviation and livelihood security Vol.1: Technological aspects of beekeeping. Pp. 63ndash;103., and Wongsiri et al. 1990Wongsiri et al. 1990:
Wongsiri, S., K. Limbipichai, P. Tangkanasing, M. Mardan, T. Rinderer, H.A. Sylvester, G. Koeniger, and G.W. Otis. 1990. Evidence of reproductive isolation confirms that Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858) is a separate species from sympatric Apis florea (Fabricius, 1787). Apidologie 21: 47ndash;52.) include:

• Drone’s hind basitarsal process half or less the length of the hind basitarsusbasitarsus:
  the segment of the tarsus that is the nearest to the body of the bee, usually the largest of all the tarsal segments
  (Fig 8).
• Structure on the endophallusendophallus:
  the inner chamber of the phallus invaginated at the end of the aedeagus, into which the ejaculatory duct opens; typically an eversible sac or tube, but sometimes a permanently internal phallic structure
  : although A. andreniformis and A. florea have a pair of bursal cornua; in A. andreniformis, the fimbriatefimbriate:
  having a fringe or border of hair-like or finger-like projections
  lobe has six protrusions and a more comparatively thick and straight terminal (see illustrations in Wongsiri, et al. 1990).
• Jugal-vannal ratio of the worker’s hindwing (nearly 65 in A. andreniformis and 75 in A. florea).
• Worker with integumentintegument:
  a tough, protective outer layer
  of T2T2:
  the segments on the top side of the abdomen, often abbreviated when referring to a specific segment to T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, or T7
  deeply punctatepunctate:
  studded with tiny holes
  (Fig 9).
• Worker hind tibiaetibiae:
  the segment of the leg, between the femur and the tarsus
  with marginal setaesetae:
  a still hair-like structure or bristle
  dark brown (Fig 10).
• Worker forewing’s venationvenation:
  the arrangement of veins in wings
  as shown in Fig 7.
• Cubital index cubital index:
  is a morphometric measurement of the vein comprising the bottom of the third submarginal cell, this vein is intersected from below by the second recurrent vein and the ratio is the basal portion of the vein prior to the intersection of the second recurrent vein divided by the apical portion of the vein distal to the intersection of the second recurrent vein
  of the worker’s forewing (= close to 6 in A. andreniformis and 3 in A. florea).
• Terminalia of female (including sting apparatus) as in Fig 11.

Host associations

As with all species of honey bees, A. andreniformis is a generalist and visits a broad range of plants for food.

Nesting behavior

Nests are exposed with horizontal comb that is built attached to tree branches.

Diversity

Univariate morphometricmorphometric:
from the Greek: &quot;morph,&quot; meaning &quot;shape,&quot; and &quot;metron,&quot; meaning &quot;measurement.&quot; Different schools of morphometrics are characterized by what aspects of biological &quot;form&quot; they are concerned with, what they choose to measure, and what kinds of biostatistical questions they ask of the measurements once they are made; such as configurations of landmarks from whole organs or organisms analyzed by appropriately invariant biometric methods (covariances of taxon, size, etc.) and in order to answer biological questions. Another sort of morphometrics studies tissue sections, measures the densities of points and curves, and uses these patterns to answer questions about the random processes that may be controlling the placement of cellular structures. A third, the method of &quot;allometry,&quot; measures sizes of separate organs and asks questions about their correlations with each other and with measures of total size. There are many others.</p
studies by Rinderer, et al. (1995) in populations from Thailand and Palawan Island, Philippines had shown only differences in the length of wings and metatarsi. Multivariate morphometricmorphometric:
from the Greek: &quot;morph,&quot; meaning &quot;shape,&quot; and &quot;metron,&quot; meaning &quot;measurement.&quot; Different schools of morphometrics are characterized by what aspects of biological &quot;form&quot; they are concerned with, what they choose to measure, and what kinds of biostatistical questions they ask of the measurements once they are made; such as configurations of landmarks from whole organs or organisms analyzed by appropriately invariant biometric methods (covariances of taxon, size, etc.) and in order to answer biological questions. Another sort of morphometrics studies tissue sections, measures the densities of points and curves, and uses these patterns to answer questions about the random processes that may be controlling the placement of cellular structures. A third, the method of &quot;allometry,&quot; measures sizes of separate organs and asks questions about their correlations with each other and with measures of total size. There are many others.</p
analysis by Rattawannee, et al. (2007) of colonies throughout Thailand have demonstrated some clinal patterns of morphometricmorphometric:
from the Greek: &quot;morph,&quot; meaning &quot;shape,&quot; and &quot;metron,&quot; meaning &quot;measurement.&quot; Different schools of morphometrics are characterized by what aspects of biological &quot;form&quot; they are concerned with, what they choose to measure, and what kinds of biostatistical questions they ask of the measurements once they are made; such as configurations of landmarks from whole organs or organisms analyzed by appropriately invariant biometric methods (covariances of taxon, size, etc.) and in order to answer biological questions. Another sort of morphometrics studies tissue sections, measures the densities of points and curves, and uses these patterns to answer questions about the random processes that may be controlling the placement of cellular structures. A third, the method of &quot;allometry,&quot; measures sizes of separate organs and asks questions about their correlations with each other and with measures of total size. There are many others.</p
characters, such as body size decreasing from west to east of Thailand (associated with decreasing altitude) and increasing from south to north (associated with increasing altitude). Molecular studies have shown mtDNA haplotype divergence of only 2% for A. andreniformis, which coincides with homogenous populations (Smith 1991Smith 1991:
Smith, D.R. 1991. Mitochondrial DNA and honey bee biogeography, in: Smith D.R. (Ed.), Diversity in the genus Apis , Westview Press, Boulder, Co. pp. 131ndash;176.).

Distribution

Subtropical and tropical areas of Southeast Asia from the eastern foothills of the Himalayas eastward to Indochina, Sundaland, and the Philippines (Gupta 2014Gupta 2014:
Gupta, R.K. 2014. Taxonomy and distribution of different honeybee species. In: Gupta R.K., Reybroeck W., van Veen J. W. amp; A. Gupta (eds): Beekeeping for poverty alleviation and livelihood security Vol.1: Technological aspects of beekeeping. Pp. 63ndash;103.). A. andreniformis is also found in the southern China peninsula, Malaysia, and Borneo.

​Distribution map generated by Discover Life -- click on map for details, credits, and terms of use.

References

Gupta, R.K. 2014. Taxonomy and distribution of different honeybee species. In: Gupta R.K., Reybroeck W., van Veen J. W. & A. Gupta (eds): Beekeeping for poverty alleviation and livelihood security Vol.1: Technological aspects of beekeeping. Pp. 63-103.
 
Hepburn, H.R. and S.E. Randloff. 2011. Honeybees of Asia. Springer, Berlin. Xii+669p.
 
Rattawannee A., C. Chanchao, and S. Wongsiri. 2007. MorphometricMorphometric:
from the Greek: &quot;morph,&quot; meaning &quot;shape,&quot; and &quot;metron,&quot; meaning &quot;measurement.&quot; Different schools of morphometrics are characterized by what aspects of biological &quot;form&quot; they are concerned with, what they choose to measure, and what kinds of biostatistical questions they ask of the measurements once they are made; such as configurations of landmarks from whole organs or organisms analyzed by appropriately invariant biometric methods (covariances of taxon, size, etc.) and in order to answer biological questions. Another sort of morphometrics studies tissue sections, measures the densities of points and curves, and uses these patterns to answer questions about the random processes that may be controlling the placement of cellular structures. A third, the method of &quot;allometry,&quot; measures sizes of separate organs and asks questions about their correlations with each other and with measures of total size. There are many others.</p
and genetic variation of small dwarf honeybees Apis andreniformis Smith, 1858 in Thailand. Insect Science 14:451-460.
 
Rinderer T.E., B.P. Oldroyd, S. Wongsiri, H.A. Sylvester, L.I. de Guzman, J.A. Stelzer, and R.M. Riggio. 1995. A morphological comparison of the dwarf honey bees of Southeastern Thailand and Palawan, Philippines. Apidologie 26:387-394.
 
Smith, F. 1858. Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects collected at Sarawak, Borneo: Mount Ophir, Malacca; and Singapore, by A. R. Wallace. Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of London 2:42-130.
 
Smith, D.R. 1991. Mitochondrial DNA and honeybee biogeography. In: Smith D.R. (ed.) Diversity in the genus Apis. Westview, Boulder. Pp: 131-176.
 
Wongsiri, S., P. Limbipichai, P. Tangkanasing, M. Mardan, T.E. Rinderer, H.A. Sylvester, G. Koeniger, and G. Otis. 1990. Evidence of reproductive isolation confirms that Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858) is a separate species from sympatricsympatric:
overlapping geographic distribution
Apis florea (Fabricius, 1757). Apidologie 21:47-52.
 
Wongsiri, S.P, C. Lekprayoon, R. Thapa, K. Thirakupt, T.E. Rinderer, H.A. Sylvester, B.P. Oldroyd, and U. Boomcham. 1996. Comparative biology of Apis andreniformis and Apis florea in Thailand. Bee World 77(4): 23-35.