MORPHOMETRIC AND MOLECULAR GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HONEY BEE POPULATIONS IN THE VITEBSK REGION

A morphometric and molecular genetic analysis of honeybees inhabiting the Vitebsk region was conducted. Analysis of morphometric trait variability and mtDNA COI–COII locus polymorphism revealed that the bees in the apiaries studied were not purebred. Crossbred forms of honeybees based on southern breeds were found to predominate in the apiaries of the Vitebsk region. However, the prevalence of the PQ allelic variant (67%) in this region suggests that crossbred colonies of the dark forest honeybee A. m. mellifera, of the evolutionary lineage M, exist in the Vitebsk region.