Apis koschevnikovi

Taxobox | name = Koschevnikov's Bee
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hymenoptera
familia = Apidae
genus = "Apis"
species = "A. koschevnikovi"
binomial = "Apis koschevnikovi"
binomial_authority = Enderlein, 1906

Koschevnikov's Bee, or "Apis koschevnikovi", is a species of honey bee which inhabits Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo, where it lives conspecifically with other honey bee species such as "Apis cerana" (specifically "A. c. nuluensis").

The species was first described by Buttel-Reepen, who dedicated it to Koschevnikov, a 19th century pioneer of honey bee morphology. This was an invalid designation, however, and the name was first formally made available by Enderlein that same year, so Buttel-Reepen is not the author of the name (following the ICZN). The species was described again by Maa in 1953, this time with the name "Apis vechti". It was finally rediscovered by Tingek et al. in 1988.

"A. koschevnikovi" hosts a unique species of the honey bee parasitic mite genus "Varroa", named "Varroa rindereri". (Guzmán et al., 1996) Although this parasite species is quite similar to "Varroa jacobsoni" it is perfectly differentiable. It has only been reported in colonies of "A. koschevnikovi" in Borneo and seems to be specific to that species, as it has yet to be observed crossing over to colonies of "A. cerana", even when they live in the same apiary.

References

* Maa T.C. (1953) "An inquiry into the systematics of the tribus Apidini or honeybees (Hym)". "Treubia" 21, 525–640.
* Tingek S., Mardan M., Rinderer G., Koeniger N., Koeniger G. (1988) "Rediscovery of "Apis vechti" (Maa, 1953): the Sabah honey bee". "Apidologie", 19, 97–102.
* Rinderer, T. E.; Stelzer, J. A.; Oldroyd, B. P.; Tingek, S.. "Levels of polyandry and intercolonial genetic relationships in "Apis koschevnikovi". "Journal of Apicultural Research", 1998 37 (4): 281-288.
* Guzmán, L. I. DE Y M. Delfinado Baker. "A new species of "Varroa" (Acari: Varroidae) associated with "Apis koschevnikovi" (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Borneo". Int. J. Acarol., 22: 23-27, 1997.

External links

* [http://www.culturaapicola.com.ar/apuntes/meliponas/apis_meliponas.htm Links to scholarly articles about "Apis koschevnikovi"]
* [http://www.culturaapicola.com.ar/apuntes/revistaselectronicas/apidologie/33-1/takahashi.pdf New haplotypes for the non-coding region of mitochondrial DNA in cavity-nesting honey bees "Apis koschevnikovi" and "Apis nuluensis"]
* [http://www.kazusa.or.jp/codon/cgi-bin/showcodon.cgi?species=mitochondrion+Apis+koschevnikovi+%5Bgbinv%5D Database of the mitochondrial DNA of "Apis koschevnikovi"]
* [http://www.springerlink.com/(bwu1myemenciq445iuelhczj)/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,6,10;journal,49,203;linkingpublicationresults,1:101198,1 Crossfostered drones of "Apis cerana" (Fabricius, 1793) and "Apis koschevnikovi" (Buttel-Reepen, 1906) fly at their species specific mating times] .

Drawings and Photographs of A. koschevnikovi

* [http://www.sggw.waw.pl/%7Ewoyke/ Queen and Drones of "Apis koschevnikovi"] .
* [http://www.sggw.waw.pl/%7Ewoyke/SpanishFR.html Bees, Queens, and Drones of "Apis koschevnikovi"]
* [http://www.sggw.waw.pl/%7Ewoyke/SpanishFR.html Photograph of the Queen and Workers of "Apis koschevnikovi"]