:Apis mellifera pomonella
{{Short description|Subspecies of honey bee}}
{{Subspeciesbox
| image =
| image_caption =
| genus = Apis
| species = mellifera
| species_link = Western honey bee
| subspecies = pomonella
| authority = Sheppard & Meixner, 2003{{cite journal |last1=Walter Sheppard, Marina Meixner |title=Apis mellifera pomonella, a new honey bee subspecies from Central Asia |journal=Apidologie |date=2003 |volume=4 |issue=34 |pages=367–375 |doi=10.1051/apido:2003037 |url=https://hal.science/hal-00891797/file/hal-00891797.pdf |access-date=13 January 2023}}
| synonyms =
| synonyms_ref =
}}
Apis mellifera pomonella, the Tien Shan honey bee, is a subspecies of Apis mellifera which is claimed to be the endemic honey bee of the Tien Shan Mountains in Central Asia. It is a relatively large bee, only slightly smaller than Apis mellifera carnica, in general very similar in appearance to Apis mellifera anatoliaca, but with comparatively short hair and short mouthparts.
Etymology
The name "pomonella" proposed by the researchers is derived from the Roman goddess Pomona, the protector of gardens, fruit trees and orchards, associated with the flourishing of the fruit, not its harvesting.{{cite book |last1=Duckworth, George E |title=Pompona |date=1976 |publisher=Macmillan Educational Corporation |pages=232 |edition=William D. Halsey. 'Collier's Encyclopedia'. Vol. 19}} The name Pōmōna in turn comes from the Latin word pōmus meaning fruit tree or fruit.{{cite book |last1=Michiel de Vaan |title=Etymological Dictionary of Latin: And the Other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series): 07 |date=2008 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004167971 |pages=479 |edition=1}} The region of the Tien Shan Mountain range is near the former Kazakhstan capital, Almaty, previously called Alma-Ata which means the “father of apples”; this area has been described as a "center of diversity" for wild Malus species, Malus sieversii (wild apples), which our apple cultivars are descended from.{{cite journal |last1=Hokanson S.C., McFerson J.R., Forsline P.L., Lamboy W.F., Luby J.J., Djangaliev A.D., Aldwinckle H.S. |title=Collecting and managing wild Malus germplasm in its center of diversity |journal=Horticultural Science |date=1997 |volume=32 |pages=173–176}} Apples are self-incompatible and require insect pollination which is typically provided by honey bees when grown as a commercial crop.{{cite book |last1=Westbrook FE, Bergman PW, Wearne RA |title=Pollination and the Honey Bee |date=1975 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office. |pages=8–9 |edition=1}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{BeeColonyMemberTypes}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q310606}}
Category:Western honey bee breeds
Category:Insects described in 2003
{{Apinae-stub}}