Abstract
The spread of the dwarf honeybee,
Apis florea
, in Sudan along the river Nile in a linear fashion provides a good model for studying the population dynamics and genetic effects of an invasion by a honeybee species. We use microsatellite DNA analyses to assess the population structure of both invasive
A. florea
and native
Apis mellifera
along the river Nile. The invasive
A. florea
had significantly higher population densities than the wild, native
A. mellifera
. Nevertheless, we found no indication of competitive displacement, suggesting that although
A. florea
had a high invasive potential, it coexisted with the native
A. mellifera
along the river Nile. The genetic data indicated that the invasion of
A. florea
was established by a single colony.