RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SIZES OF MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES IN WORKER HONEY-BEES (APIS-MELLIFERA)

Three important morphological attributes of 100 worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) from each of four colonies were examined morphometrically. Intertegular span (a measure of overall size), corbicular area (a measure of pollen carrying potential), and wing measurement C (highly correlated to functional proboscis length) were the morphological features selected. Worker bees with larger intertegular spans (or corbiculae, or wing measurements C) did not possess other morphological features that were highly correlated in size. This lack of correspondence was true in analyses focusing upon both linear and allometric size relationships. The lack of strong size cor-relations between morphological features is discussed in terms of both artificial and natural selection acting upon honey bee colonies.