Fluctuating asymmetry in Anatolian (Apis mellifera anatoliaca) and Caucasian (Apis mellifera caucasica) honey bees

In this thesis study, the existence of fluctuating asymmetry between the subspecies Anatolian bee (Apis mellifera anatoliaca) and Caucasian bee (Apis mellifera caucasica) was studied. It is aimed to determine whether the symmetrically matched morphological features of the mentioned subspecies are far from the ideal shape according to certain criteria. Anatolian bee (A.m. anatoliaca) was obtained from apiaries in Ankara/Kazan region and Caucasian bee (A.m. caucasica) was obtained from one apiary in Ardahan/Posof and 4 different apiaries in Hatila and Camili regions of Artvin. The characters of each individual's bilateral (right and left) front wings and hind legs were digitized using tpsDig and Bee2 programs. To prove the existence of fluctuating asymmetry, all numerical data were subjected to a series of statistical tests such as two-way analysis of variance (two-way ANOVA) and Procrustes analysis of variance (Procrustes ANOVA). According to the results obtained, there was a statistically significant difference between all Anatolian and Caucasian honey bee populations (P<0.001). This difference between subspecies is possible due to both genetic origin and geographic isolation. A statistically significant difference was not found between Caucasian honey bees in Artvin and Posof (P>0.05), but there were significant differences in the ANOVA tests performed between Caucasian honey bees in Artvin (P<0.05). There were too many deviations in the vectorial distribution, showing the fluctuating asymmetry of the population in Okul önü. There can be many stress factors that cause this situation. It can be stated that the population with the most variation is this population, since there is queen bee production in this location. In addition, the regularity of the vector distribution of the populations in the Iremit and Tevtiyet locations may be due to selection. This indicates that they came from a colony with low variation.