Geometric analysis of morphological variation in the wing of Apis cerana cerana from the Qinling-Daba Mountain Areas

Author of the article:QIU Li-Fei；WEI Zhao-Ming；WANG Jun-Jie；LIU Hong-Xia；ZHAO Bai-Xue；ZHANG Yu；LIAN Zhen-Min

Author's Workplace：Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China；Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China；Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China；Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China；Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China；Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China；Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Medicinal Resources and Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China​​​​​​

Key Words：Apis cerana cerana, Qinling-Daba Mountains, geometric morphometric

Abstract：

 [Objectives]  To analyze morphological variation in Apis cerana cerana in the Qinling-Daba Mountain Regions of Shaanxi Province in order to provide evidence for further studies on the evolution of this species. [Methods]  Geometric morphometric methods, including Principal Component Analysis, Canonical Variate Analysis and Thin-plate splines, were used to analyze wing variation in 17 A. c. cerana populations from the Qinling-Daba Mountain Areas in Shaanxi. [Results]  Wing size of A. c. cerana was significantly different among populations and there was a significant correlation between wing size and geographic location. The forewing shape of southern groups obviously clustered together on the positive PC1 axis, whereas that of northern groups clustered on the negative PC1 axis. Thin-plate spline analysis showed that southern and northern groups differ in wing shape. Significance testing for morphological differences among populations based on Mahalanobis and Procrustes distances indicate significant differences between southern and northern groups, and between northern and Bashan groups. However, the differences between southern and Bashan groups were distinctly smaller than those between the other groups. The correlation between Procrustes distance and geographic distance in southern and northern groups was positive, but there were differences in the degree of correlation. [Conclusion]  A. c. cerana wing size varies geographically and altitude and latitude appear to be major factors affecting wing size. A. c. cerana populations from the northern Qinling Mountains differ to a certain degree in wing shape from those from the southern Qinling Mountains and the Daba Mountains.