Maltese honey bee
Maltese honey bee | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Apidae |
Genus: | Apis |
Species: | A. mellifera |
Subspecies: | A. m. ruttneri
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Trinomial name | |
Apis mellifera ruttneri Sheppard, Arias, Grech & Meixner, 1997[1]
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The Maltese honey bee, Apis mellifera ruttneri, is a subspecies of the western honey bee, endemic to the Maltese islands which are situated in the Mediterranean Sea.[2]
Origin
The A. m. ruttneri evolved into a distinct subspecies when the Maltese islands were cut off from
Character and behaviour
The bee is of relatively dark colour and has shown an ability to defend itself against local predacious wasps, a behavior also reported in the related A. m. sicula, but not observed in imported A. m. ligustica bees. It was also observed to abscond during times of dearth and produce large numbers of queen cells prior to swarming (up to 80).[2]
In a comparison study on the island of Malta against the A. m. ligustica, the A. m. ruttneri showed significantly greater tolerance (all the A. m. ruttneri hives were still alive after 23 months, while all the A. m. ligustica hives died within a year) and resistance (by measuring the Hygienic trait with a Pin Test, the A. m. ruttneri had 50% higher results) towards the Varroa destructor mite. Also the A. m. ruttneri produced over three times the yield of honey when compared to the A. m. ligustica bees during the late season.[7][8] However the A. m. ruttneri was observed to be more aggressive and less calm on the comb during inspections, and they appeared to continue to rear brood and maintain a higher population during the winters months on Malta.[9]
History of A. m. ruttneri
The subspecies is named after Professor Friedrich Ruttner, an expert in honey bee queen breeding and also in the intra-specific taxonomy of the Apis mellifera.[10] It is considered as making a comeback after Varroa was introduced to Malta in the early 1990s.[11] At that time colonies of bees from abroad were imported to compensate for the loss of colonies.[citation needed] In 1997 it was confirmed as a distinct subspecies through DNA analysis, previously morphometric wing analysis had been used.[12] In 2022, it was reported that 70% of the Maltese colonies were destroyed by the Oriental hornet.[13]On February 2024, a public consulation has been opened to declare the Maltese honey bee as the national insect of malta, an initiative that was proposed by the Foundation for the Conservation of the Maltese Honey Bee.[14]
Foundation for the Conservation of the Maltese Honey Bee
In 2022 a
References
- ISSN 0044-8435.
- ^ ISSN 0044-8435.
- ^ "Malta's submerged landscape". timesofmalta.com. Times of Malta. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- S2CID 91025470.
- PMID 33366793.
- Perseus Project.
- S2CID 252424007.
- ^ Galea, Thomas (2020). The development of 'Varroa destructor' in native 'Apis mellifera ruttneri' and in introduced 'Apis mellifera ligustica' colonies on the island of Malta (bachelorThesis). University of Malta.
- ^ A. Uzunov, M. Meixner, D. Mifsud, T. Galea, M. Zammit-Mangion, S. Cutajar. "Comparison of colony development, behavior, production and vitality between the endemic sub-species A. m. ruttneri and the introduced A. m. ligustica in Malta". researchgate.net. Annual conference of the Working Group of Institutes for Bee Research. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - doi:10.1051/apido:19970505. Retrieved 21 December 2022.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ A. Uzunov, M. Meixner, D. Mifsud, T. Galea, M. Zammit-Mangion, S. Cutajar. "Comparison of colony development, behavior, production and vitality between the endemic sub-species A. m. ruttneri and the introduced A. m. ligustica in Malta". researchgate.net. Annual conference of the Working Group of Institutes for Bee Research. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - S2CID 91025470.
- ^ "70 per cent of local beehives destroyed by oriental hornets". Times of Malta. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ https://era.org.mt/declaration-of-the-maltese-honey-bee-as-a-national-species/
- ^ "Buzz! National coalition launched to protect the Maltese Honeybee". www.guidememalta.com. Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ "Fondazzjoni għall-Konservazzjoni tan-Naħla Maltija". Fondazzjoni għall-Konservazzjoni tan-Naħla Maltija (in Maltese). Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ "Pubblikazzjonijiet". Fondazzjoni għall-Konservazzjoni tan-Naħla Maltija (in Maltese). 2022-10-28. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ISSN 0966-1646.
- ^ "In-Naħla Maltija bħala l-Insett Nazzjonali". Fondazzjoni għall-Konservazzjoni tan-Naħla Maltija (in Maltese). 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2023-06-22.