Volume 8, Issue 1, June 2014, Pages 75–77
Open Access
- Open Access funded by Far Eastern Federal University
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
This article discusses the features of Apis mellifera mellifera associated with the expansion of their habitat to the north. The A. m. mellifera
isolated in Kama Urals is considered the Prikamsky honeybee population
and has retained the features of a pure gene pool. Here, we analysed the
biological and physiological features of bees native to Kama Urals and
the crossbreeding that occurs among these bee species.
Keywords
- Honey bees;
- Areal;
- Prikamsky population;
- Crossbreeding
Introduction
Before the anthropogenic period, a Euro-Siberian sub-species of the honeybee, the Central Russian dark hylile bee (Apis mellifera mellifera L.), spread naturally over a large area from southern France to Siberia, reaching as far north as 60°N latitude ( Ruttner et al, 1990).
This area expanded as the species moved north due to complex
ethological and physiological adaptations to the cold climate zone ( Eskov, 1995).
The
Cis-Ural region is the territory located on the western slope of the
Ural Mountains on the outskirts of the East European Plain. The
territory lies in the basins of the Kama and Pechora Rivers and includes
the Pechora lowlands to the north and the Verkhnekamskaya
Bugulma-Belebey upland to the south. In the Cis-Ural region in Kama
basin, the Kama Cis-Ural territory predominates. The northern region of
the Kama Cis-Ural territory is a typical middle taiga consisting of
spruce-fir forests, pine forests and peat bogs. The central region of
the territory is southern taiga that includes spruce-fir forests with an
admixture of linden. In the southern region of the territory, there is a
subzone of mixed forests. The southeast is occupied with Kungursky
forest steppe with typical degraded chernozems. Northeast of the Kama
Cis-Ural territory is a dark coniferous mountain taiga with bald peaks
standing high above the taiga (Grigoriev, 1962).
Central Russian bees (A. m. mellifera)
have been historically developed in natural biological communities on
the Kama Cis-Ural territory. This finding was recorded by Mikhailov (1927) and Alpatov (1948).
According to studies conducted by researchers in the Zoology Department
of Perm Pedagogical University, Central Russian bees overwhelmingly
dominated the Perm Territory previously. However, from the 1950s
onwards, agricultural workers have been importing the queens and bee
packages of southern races that were not adapted to the harsh conditions
of the north area. The importation of these southern bees with the
purpose of increasing productivity resulted if the emergence of hybrids
of unknown origin. By the 1980s, cross-breeding of bees had reached 40%
in some apiaries causing increased morbidity and the withdrawal of bee
colonies in the winter. This process was aggravated by the mite Varroa
destructor affect. To a lesser extent, the cross-breeding of bees
influenced the Uinsky and Krasnovishersky areas, which had been declared
as pure breeding areas of the Central Russian bees. The recruitment of
honeybee populations in natural conditions (wild hive, hollows of trees,
rocks, and other shelters) is performed because the bees disperse
during swarming. In the late 20th century, a negative impact on the gene
pool of the Central Russian bees caused by the introduced bees was
observed. The conservation of the gene pool of Central Russian bees and
the preservation of the indigenous forms of local Central Russian bee
populations have been discussed in many publications ( Grankin, 1998 and Kryvtsov, 2008).
Materials and Methods
Studies
performed by Perm researchers on bee colonies (1990–2000 Gg.) in the
Kama Cis-Ural territory distinguished a population of honey bees of the
Central Russian race that had the features of a pure gene pool based on
physiological, morphological (Petukhov, 1996 and Shurakov et al., 1999) and genetic (Ilyasov et al, 2006)
indicators. These bees are named “Prikamsky” after the territory where
they were detected. The Prikamskaya population formed naturally in the
northern area and has a particular value today, as it is the natural
reserve of the pure gene pool of Central Russian bees. Currently, in the
Kama Cis-Ural territory, two groups of native bees of the Central
Russian Prikamskaya population have been identified. They are separated
from each other by a distance of 300 km. The Uinskaya group exists in
the southeast of the Perm region, and the Visherskaya group exists in
the north of the Perm region, which is the northern boundary of the
honeybee, (Petukhov, 1996 and Ilyasov et al., 2006) (Fig. 1).