CLASSIFICATION OF WING VENATION DEFORMITIES IN APIS MELLIFERA L. DRONES IN UKRAINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31861/biosystems2026.01.114Keywords:
Honey bee, drones, wing venation defects, genome, haplodiploidy, plasticity, canalization, pleiotropy, analysis of variance, discriminant analysisAbstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of using information on wing venation distortions in drone Apis mellifera L. to infer properties of haploid genomes in the honey bee.
A total of 260 colonies and 30,821 drones were examined. Wing venation distortions and their localization were identified. Eleven distinct defect types were classified and denoted as <X>, where X ∈ {A, B, …, K}. For a subset of 40 colonies, discriminant analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied to cluster wings within colonies into two groups and to compare defect-free and defective wings belonging to the same cluster.
The proportions of defect types <F>, <C>, and <D> were 14.74%, 5.55%, and 2.68% of the total number of analyzed wings, respectively. In 78 (30%) colonies, the proportion of type <F> defects exceeded 20%. The frequencies of other defect types were substantially lower, ranging from 0.43% to 1.39%. However, individual colonies exhibiting high frequencies of defects <A> (up to 42%) and <B> (up to 34%) were identified. In addition to clearly expressed defects, the constant presence of weakly expressed anomalies (<<A>> and <<B>>) was detected, with a total frequency exceeding 40%.
When the proportion of clearly expressed deformities reaches or exceeds 23%, drone wing morphology can be employed to evaluate variation in genotype–phenotype correspondence between normal wings and wings exhibiting deformities.
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