Abstract
Morphometric and genetic markers are very common and powerful tools used to characterize honey bee subspecies. In Saudi Arabia, morphometric analysis using 24 characteristics separated the Saudi honey bee between two reference subspecies. Most Saudi honey bee samples clustered with Apis mellifera jemenitica reference group, but others were more similar to Apis mellifera litorea reference group. Based on sequence analysis of the mtDNA COI-COII region, 18 new and clearly separated haplotypes were characterized for the first time. Sequence analyses showed that most haplotypes belonged to the O lineage and are very close to the Syrian haplotypes found in the gene databank (NCBI). However, two other haplotypes belonged to the A lineage and are clearly different from the Ethiopian haplotypes previously described as A.m. jemenitica. However, no previous genetic data for the A.m. jemenitica from Saudi Arabia, Yemen or Oman are available in the databank for comparison purposes. Additionally, this high genetic diversity in the mtDNA COI-COII region and the clear morphometric variation suggest that the honey bee of Saudi Arabia represents more than one distinct honey bee subspecies.