A morphological and mitochondrial assessment of Apis mellifera from Palermo, Italy

A characterization of the honey bees from western Sicily (Palermo, Italy) is presented. Morphological comparisons to A. m. ligustica were made using data taken from honey bee populations from south eastern (Bari) and central (Emilia Romagna) Italy. The honey bees of the Palermo area have distinct morphological differences compared to the mainland honey bees. The mtDNA haplotype common in subspecies within the African lineage of A. mellifera predominated in the Sicilian honey bee samples (13 out of 16). These results suggest both the potential and the desirability to expend efforts to conserve A. m. sicula.