Morphometric characteristics of the honeybees (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) and their variability in the Sudano-Sahelian and Sudanian climatic zones of Burkina Faso

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown The honeybee Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 is an economically and ecologically important insect. In Burkina Faso, knowledge of the morphometric characteristics of honeybees is limited, although this information is important and reflects their ability to adapt to the environment. The aim of this study is to morphometrically characterize A. mellifera and to determine the variability of its traits according to climatic zones. A sample of 800 worker bees from 80 colonies was collected from 16 apiaries in the Sudanian and Sudano-Sahelian climatic zones. 20 morphometric characteristics were measured according to their biological significance. The results reveal that the individuals had an average body length of 13.22 ± 1.25 mm and a proboscis length of 4.31±0.57 mm. A positive correlation (p < 0.05) was established between forewing length and hind leg length (r 2= 0.82). In the Soudano-Sahelian climatic zone, the mean body length was 13.75 ± 1.14 mm, whereas it was shorter in the Soudanian zone, with a mean of 12.54 ± 1.04 mm (p < 0.001). Similarly, the mean proboscis length is 4.47 ± 0.54 mm in the Sudano-Sahelian zone, while it is lower (4.09 ± 0.53mm) in the Sudanian zone (p< 0.001). Through multivariate analysis, we detected three morphometrically separable groups of bees: one group belonging to each climatic zone and a third group made up of bees from both climatic zones. These results could have implications for biodiversity conservation and sustainable beekeeping in Burkina Faso.