Morphological characters of the endemic honey bee Apis binghami binghami across different elevations in South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 96
File Views: 103
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Nadi JA, Nuraeni S, Budiaman, Prastiyo A. 2026. Morphological characters of the endemic honey bee Apis binghami binghami across different elevations in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 27 (2): d270220. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d270220. Apis binghami binghami is an endemic honey bee of Wallacea that plays a crucial role in pollination and maintaining tropical ecosystem balance. However, information on its morphological characters along the elevational gradient in South Sulawesi remains limited. Environmental heterogeneity associated with altitude may strongly influence morphological traits related to flight performance, foraging efficiency, and physiological adaptation. This study aimed to analyze the morphological characters of A. b. binghami across three elevational zones lowland (0-300 masl), midland (301-700 masl), and highland (>700 masl) in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Worker bees were collected using standardized bait traps, with 30 individuals sampled from each elevation. A total of 37 morphometric characters were measured using stereo microscopy. Data were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), cluster analysis, and correlation analysis. The results revealed significant morphometric differences (p<0.001) among elevations, with increasing body size, wing length, abdomen, and sting dimensions at higher altitudes. PCA showed that the first principal component explained 80.22% of the total variation, primarily influenced by mesoscutum width, forewing length, including tegula, and abdominal length. Cluster analysis separated highland populations from lowland and midland groups, indicating clear morphological differentiation along the elevational gradient. These findings demonstrate pronounced morphological plasticity of A. b. binghami in response to altitude-related environmental conditions. The study provides the first comprehensive morphometric dataset for this endemic subspecies in South Sulawesi and offers important insights for conservation planning.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Baguette M, Bertrand JA, Stevens VM, Schatz B. 2020. Why are there so many bee-orchid species? Adaptive radiation by intra-specific competition for mnesic pollinators. Biol Rev 95 (6): 1630-1663. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12633.
Bakhchou S, Aglagane A, Tofilski A, Mokrini F, Er-Rguibi O, El Mouden EH, Machlowska J, Fellahi S, Mohssine EH. 2025. Morphological diversity of Moroccan honey bees (Apis mellifera L. 1758): Insights from a geometric morphometric study of wing venation in honey bees from different climatic regions. Diversity 17 (8): 527. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17080527.
Bareke T, Addi A. 2019. Bee flora resources and honey production calendar of Gera Forest in Ethiopia. Asian J For 3: 69-74. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjfor/r030204.
Budiaman B, Prastiyo A, Nuraeni S, Lestari DA, Wahyuni W, Chairil C, Budi Arty, Nurhady Sirimorok, Nurdin PF. 2025. Teknik panen ramah lingkungan dan berkelanjutan melalui tikung lebah hutan Apis binghamii pada kelompok tani hutan. Surya Abdimas 9 (3): 392-399. https://doi.org/10.37729/abdimas.v9i3.5752. [Indonesian]
Brasil SN, Ayers AC, Rehan SM. 2023. The effect of urbanisation and seasonality on wild bee abundance, body size, and foraging efforts. Ecol Entomol 48 (4): 499-507. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.13243.
Efin A, Atmowidi T, Prawasti TS. 2019. Morphological characteristics and morphometric of stingless bees (Apidae: Hymenoptera) from Banten Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20 (6): 1693-1698. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d200627.
Hailu TG, D'Alvise P, Tofilski A, Fuchs S, Greiling J, Rosenkranz P, Hasselmann M. 2020. Insights into Ethiopian honey bee diversity based on wing geomorphometric and mitochondrial DNA analyses. Apidologie 51 (6): 1182-1198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-020-00796-9.
Khalifa SA, Elshafiey EH, Shetaia AA, El-Wahed AA, Algethami AF, Musharraf SG, AlAjmi MF, Zhao C, Masry SH, Abdel-Daim MM, Halabi MF. 2021. Overview of bee pollination and its economic value for crop production. Insects 12 (8): 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12080688.
Kitnya N, Brockmann A, Otis GW. 2024. Taxonomic revision and identification keys for the giant honey bees. Front Bee Sci 2: 1379952. https://doi.org/10.3389/frbee.2024.1379952.
Lopez-Uribe MM, Almeida EA, Alves DA. 2025. Adapting to change: bee pollinator signatures in anthropized environments. Curr Opin Insect Sci 68: 101297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2024.101297.
Lozier JD, Parsons ZM, Rachoki L, Jackson JM, Pimsler ML, Oyen KJ, Strange J, Dillon ME. 2021. Divergence in body mass, wing loading, and population structure reveals species-specific and potentially adaptive trait variation across elevations in montane bumble bees. Insect Syst Divers 5 (5): 3. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixab012.
Mistick EA, Mountcastle AM, Combes SA. 2016. Wing flexibility improves bumblebee flight stability. J Exp Biol 219 (21): 3384-3390. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.133157.
Nagir MT, Atmowidi T, Kahono S. 2016. The distribution and nest-site preference of Apis dorsata binghami at Maros Forest, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. J Insect Biodivers 4 (23): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.12976/jib/2016.4.23.
Ogilvie JE, Forrest JR. 2017. Interactions between bee foraging and floral resource phenology shape bee populations and communities. Curr Opin Insect Sci 21: 75-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.05.015.
Parejo M, Talenti A, Richardson M, Vignal A, Barnett M, Wragg D. 2023. AmelHap: Leveraging drone whole-genome sequence data to create a honey bee HapMap. Sci Data 10 (1): 198. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02097-z.
Peters MK, Peisker J, Steffan-Dewenter I, Hoiss B. 2016. Morphological traits are linked to the cold performance and distribution of bees along elevational gradients. J Biogeogr 43 (10): 2040-2049. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12768.
Prastiyo A, Nuraeni S. 2024. Morphology and morphometric of Tetragonula biroi bees at three different altitudes in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25 (5): 1993-2002. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d250516.
Quigley TP, Amdam GV, Harwood GH. 2019. Honey bees as bioindicators of changing global agricultural landscapes. Curr Opin Insect Sci 35: 132-137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2019.08.012.
Rowe KC, Achmadi AS, Fabre PH, Schenk JJ, Steppan SJ, Esselstyn JA. 2019. Oceanic islands of Wallacea as a source for dispersal and diversification of murine rodents. J Biogeogr 46 (12): 2752-2768. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13720.
Sharaf El-Din H, Ibrahim Y, Al Naggar Y. 2025. The invasion of the red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea) in Egypt: morphometric assessment and nesting preferences in urban environments. Apidologie 56 (5): 86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-025-01215-7.
Siraj M, Yaqoob M, Ayoub L, Bhat BA, Sheikh MA, Irshad SS. 2022. Comparative morphometric studies of European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) at different altitudes of Kashmir Region, India. International J Environ Climate Change 12 (11): 3507-3523. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2022/v12i111399.
Soipijit S, Sopaladawan PN. 2024. Wing geometric morphometric analysis of dwarf honeybee (Apis florea) populations in Thailand. Biodiversitas 25 (10): 3568-3575. https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d251018.
Struebig MJ, Aninta SG, Beger M, Bani A, Barus H, Brace S, Davies ZG, Brauwer MD, Diele K, Djakiman C, Djamaluddin R. 2022. Safeguarding imperiled biodiversity and evolutionary processes in the Wallacea center of endemism. BioScience 72 (11): 1118-1130. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac085.
Szentgyorgyi H, Czekonska K, Tofilski A. 2018. Honey bees are larger and live longer after developing at a low temperature. J Therm Biol 78: 219-226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.09.007.
Taye RR, Rahman A, Deka MK, Borkataki S, Saikia R, Zaman AS, Choudhury MR, Khan P, Bordoloi D, Kakati N. 2025. Multivariate morphometric analysis of dwarf honey bees, Apis florea Fabricius and Apis andreniformis Smith in North-east India. J Environ Biol 46 (3): 426-438. https://doi.org/10.22438/jeb/46/3/MRN-5268.
Tej MK, Srinivasan MR, Vijayakumar K, Natarajan N, Kumar SM. 2017. Morphometry analysis of stingless bee Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (1854). Intl J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci 6 (10): 2963-2970. https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.610.350.
Yancan L, Tianle C, Yunhan F, Delong L, Guizhi W. 2019. Population genomics and morphological features underlying the adaptive evolution of the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana). BMC Genomics 20 (1): 869. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-6246-4.
Yang J, Yang C, Lin HW, Lees AC, Tobias JA. 2025. Elevational constraints on flight efficiency shape global gradients in avian wing morphology. Curr Biol 35 (8): 1890-1900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.068.
Zapata‐Hernández G, Gajardo‐Rojas M, Calderón‐Seguel M, Muñoz AA, Yáñez KP, Requier F, Fontúrbel FE, Ormeño‐Arriagada PI, Arrieta H. 2024. Advances and knowledge gaps on climate change impacts on honey bees and beekeeping: a systematic review. Global Change Biol 30 (3): e17219. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17219.
Zhang X, Lu J, Qu X, Chen X. 2025. An evaluation of morphometric characteristics of honey bee (Apis cerana) populations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Life 15 (2): 255. https://doi.org/10.3390/life15020255.