Computer-Assisted Measurement and Identification of Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

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Abstract
A procedure is described for rapid measurement and identification of honey bees, Apis mellifera L. Parts of bees are slide mounted, and the images are projected optically onto a digitizer tablet that communicates with a computer. Point coordinates for measurements are entered by hand with the digitizer. The computer calculates the various measurements and then determines by discriminant analysis whether the bees are likely to be European or Africanized in origin. The procedure significantly reduces the time and errors in making measurements. Blind tests of field identifications versus analytical identifications agreed in 95.6% of 135 collections. Five other collections with intermediate discriminant scores could have been caused by mixtures of Africanized and European bees, recent hybridization, or unusual environmental stresses that caused a reduction in the size of European honey bees.

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