LEVELS OF POLYANDRY AND INTRACOLONIAL GENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS IN APIS-DORSATA (HYMENOPTERA, APIDAE)

Pupae and adults of 4 Apis dorsata F. colonies from northern Thailand were collected in liquid nitrogen. DNA was extracted, and microsatelli te genotypes at 3 loci determined for 42-194 workers per colony From t hese data, the queen genotype was inferred, and the number of males wi th which each queen mated deduced. These A. dorsata queens mated with a mean of 26.75 +/- 5.42 (SEM) drones (range, 13-39). The mean within- colony genetic relatedness was 0.29 +/- 0.009. All colonies were monog ynous. Possible reasons for the very high level of polyandry and the g reat variance are discussed. A null allele was detected for 1 microsat ellite locus in 1 queen progeny.