Variation of honey bee wings in southwestern Asia

The native range of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) includes Europe, Africa, and southwestern Asia. It is widely recognized that the genetic diversity of this species is being eroded in some regions due to the commercial supply of queen bees and migratory beekeeping. Other stressors present in some regions include agrochemicals, new parasites, and pathogens. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor the biodiversity of honey bees. A large dataset comprising 17,457 honey bee wings from 1,557 colonies in nine southwestern Asian countries was analyzed using 19 morphometric landmarks identified on forewing images. The results show that there is significant variation in wing shape across southwestern Asia. Pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between most geographic regions. Wing geometric morphometrics is a cost-effective method that does not require sophisticated equipment and could be used by both scientists and beekeepers. The collection of wing images presented here, accessible through the Zenodo website, may facilitate the description and conservation of honey bee biodiversity in southwestern Asia.