This study concerns the morphological identification, the
molecular features and the eco-physiology of the Tunisian bee Apis
mellifera intermissa, focused on 655 colonies from 7 populations:
Kroumirie Moogod, North East Cap Bon, Ridge and Tell, high steppe,
lower steppe, Atlas Chainon, Jeffara and Ouarra. The geometric
morphometry of the interior wing of the bee shows polymorphism in size
and shape. The size polymorphism is essentialy related to beekeeping
practices. The characterization by means of a cytoplasmic molecular
marker - mitochondrial DNA (DNA m t) - showed that the Tunisian
bee originated from lineage A, which contradicts its membership to
lineage M as demonstrated by a study based on biometric data only
(Ruttner, 1988). There is a genetic polymorphism of the Tunisian bee
in the presence of four haplotypes: A1, A8, A9 and A4. The distribution
of the A4 and A9 haplotypes depends on ecological conditions.
Foreign haplotypes are present in the region of Ghardimaou near the
Algerian border (C7 haplotype). The study of some ecophysiological
parameters in colonies of Apis mellifera intermissa from 5 sites showed
that the Tunisian bee is endowed with a very marked disregard for all
haplotypes (A1, A4, A8 and A9). However, we report the existence of a
difference between these haplotypes in thermoregulation, oviposition
and respiration of solitary bees. The temperature of the A1 and A8
haplotypes brood nest is around 36°C while the A9 and A4 haplotypes
brood nest has a temperature of 34°C when weather conditions
are extreme. The A4 and A9 haplotypes fall into hibernation, the
temperature of the brood nest ranging between 22 and 28°C. The A1
and A8 haplotypes have a high tendency to lay A9 and A4 haplotypes,
which however is variable, ranging from zero to average depending
on climatic conditions. A study of respiration of isolated honeybees
showed a difference in oxygen consumption between haplotypes A1/
A8 and A4/A9 at low temperatures.
