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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Apis mellifera mellifera (black bees) is threatened over much of its natural range. However, in Ireland microsatellite and mitochondrial data have shown that a significant population of this subspecies exists in pure form and spread over a large geographical region on the Island. Black bees have been managed and protected by beekeepers on the island, some of who formed the Native Irish Honeybee Society in 2012. The application of a SNP panel that detects hybridization between M and C lineages clearly supports other data in that the majority of beekeepers included who purported to keep black bees indeed have bees that show very low to no introgression from the C lineage. Furthermore, SNP data has also been applied to the first feral bee colonies located in Ireland subsequent to the introduction of Varroa. Long considered extinct, feral bees sampled to date show high levels of A. m. mellifera purity using SNPs. Here we will present this data and also discuss the use of this SNP panel to elucidate patterns in colour variation and honeybee subspecies purity in wild and managed bees towards improving conservation approaches in the face of potential hybridization threat.
Description
Keywords
Black bee Hybridization Molecular tools
Citation
Browne, Keith A.; Henriques, Dora; Hassett, J.; Geary, M.; Moore, E.; Pinto, M. Alice; Native Irish Honey Bee Society; McCormack, Grace P. (2018). Applying molecular tools for conservation of wild and managed black bees in Ireland. In EURBEE 2018: 8th European Conference of Apidology. Ghent, Belgium