Africanization of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in three climatic regions of northern Mexico

Veterinaria Mexico OA ISSN: 2448-6760 Cite this as: Medina Flores CA, Guzman Novoa E, Hamiduzzaman MM, Aguilera Soto J, Lopez Carlos MA. Africanization of honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) in three climatic regions of northern Mexico. Veterinaria Mexico OA. 2015;2(4). doi: 10.21753/vmoa.2.4.353 This study was conducted to analyze the process of Africanization of managed honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) colonies by determining the frequency of African and European morphotypes and mitotypes ( mt DNA) in three different ecological environments of northern Mexico. Colonies (n= 151) were sampled in 1) temperate semi-dry; 2) semi-warm semi-dry; and 3) temperate sub-humid regions in the state of Zacatecas. The mt DNA type was determined by PCR-RFLP and the morphotype by the Fast Africanized Bee Identification System (FABIS). Out of all the colonies sampled in all areas, the mt DNA analysis showed a significantly higher frequency of European maternal lineage (77.5%) than of African maternal lineage (22.5%; P