Apis mellifera anatoliaca


Apis mellifera anatoliaca is known commonly as the Anatolian honey bee.
This bee-type is a subspecies of Apis mellifera.

Habitat

This bee is the aboriginal population of Turkey, populating the central parts of the country, excluding the northeastern and southeastern, although including old Rumelia.

Taxonomy

This bee type belongs to the branch of bee classified by Ruttner as "Oriental". A recent genetic study confirmed that the sub-species belongs to an Eastern Europe branch of the genotype of the honey bee. Mitochondrial Deoxyribonucleaic acid analysis of Thracian bees showed some similarities to the Apis mellifera carnica, although this same similarity was absent from Anatolian bee samples & Meixner et al.. The cause of this is given as inter-breeding of native populations with nearby Austrian, Slovakian and Croatian bees.