Discrimination between subspecies was
based on reference samples which were obtained
from queen breeders . The
reference samples were not verified using molecular
markers; therefore, they can contain hybrids.
For the discrimination between subspecies, the
first canonical variate was used (hereinafter referred
to as “morphometrics index”). The workers
and colonies were classified as A. m. carnica if
the morphometrics index was larger than −1.55.
The threshold value was calculated as a midpoint
between the mean canonical scores for A. m.
mellifera (−3.73) and A. m. carnica (0.62)