DNA Barcoding and Morphometrics of Stingless Bees (apidae: meliponinae) in three selected forests in Kenya

Stingless honeybee keeping is an income generating enterprise with an indirect potential of achieving the goal of forest and biodiversity conservation in Kenya. However, little information is available on species diversity and spatial distribution of stingless bees in Kenya. This study describes variations of stingless bee samples collected from Arabuko Sokoke, Mwingi and Kakamega forests, ranging from low, middle to high altitude, respectively using morphometrics and DNA barcoding. Fourteen morphometric characters were measured to determine the extent of morphological variation of stingless bees in Kenya.In addition, mitochondrial DNA sequences data were generated using Cytochrome c Oxidase I (COI) in accordance with standards applied by the Barcode of Life Data systems (BOLD). The morphometric variables differentiated three populations of Hypotrigona gribodoi andMeliponula bocandei from three geographically distinct regions in Kenya. Hypotrigona gribodoi samples from three localities were separated using morphometric data by applying PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and CVA (Canonical Variate Analysis) into two population groups. Kakamega population was distinct whereas Mwingi and Coast separated partially. Three populations of M. bocandei were separated into two groups on the PCA but separated further into three distinct groups on CVA. Sequences from the same species clustered together when genetic distance- based cluster analysis was applied. Intraspecific divergence was less than 2% compared to high interspecific divergence of greater than 8.6%.The distance between groups analysis shows that H. gribodoi is closely related to D.schimidti with a distance of 0.086 compared to M. bocandei with 0.119. This study forms a basis for further studies in production of queens for commercial production of honey. The production of honey acts as a source of income and involves farmers in conservation of forests.