l>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_honey_bee
>
> I should have known to look on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is a good starting place, but it is riddled with the
inaccuracies inherent in an unedited work of multiple authors.

To get a better understanding, I obtained Ben Oldroyd's recent book on
the Asian Honey Bee. In it he states:

The taxonomy of A. mellifera is mired by the recognition of a plethora
of poorly defined subspecies. The confusing, and often dubious,
nomenclature has blighted it -- there are over 150 subspecies names,
with new ones still being added. Although it is undoubtedly true that
some of the honey bees do evolve widely differing ecotypes, both in
terms of behavior and appearance, it is doubtful that naming them as
subspecies is useful.

IN "Honey Bees of Africa" Hepburn and Radloff write:

Various studies have included multivariate morphometric analyses, the
development of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA profiles, a host of
allozymes, pheromones, and a suite of biological characteristics such
as polyandry, swarming, migrating and absconding. The newer and
additional approaches have revealed levels of variation not previously
detected in morphometric [external measurement] studies. In
consequence, populations of honeybees previously thought to be
homogeneous and thus defined as races or subspecies, actually emerge
as a potpourri of independently oscillating traits within a contiguous
population.

* * *

The primary distinction in honey bees is the species: Apis mellifera,
A. cerana, etc. Of Apis mellifera, there are three main lineages:
South and Central African branch (A), a North African and West
European branch (M) and a North Mediterranean branch (C)*.  It is the
further subdivision of these that is being called into question here.
The concept of local types is very attractive to conservationists, but
less useful to modern beekeeping. Modern beekeepers use and sell what
might be more usefully referred to as "breeds" or "variations". The
term "race" is outmoded at best, and somewhat offensive. The desire of
many countries to have "native bees" has caused the naming of a number
of spurious races, such as A. m. sylvarum. Of course, there are no
native honey bees in the Americas and Australia.

* some include a fourth evolutionary branch, called O, which includes
the Near and Middle
Eastern subspecies.

-- 
Peter L. Borst

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