Annals of the Entomological Society of America · 1991 · 66 citations · 0 references
Life SciencesEntomologyEvolutionary BiologyInsect SystematicsPhylogeneticsSystematicsCladistic AnalysisCladisticsInsect PhylogeneticsInsect PhylogenyPhylogenetic AnalysisPhylogenetic InferenceArthropod PhylogenyCladogram ConstructionConsistencyEvolutionary SystematicsPhylogenetic Character AnalysisPhylogenetic Hypothesis TestingPhylogenetic Tree InferenceTree Topology Analysis
A cladistic analysis of six species-species groups in the genus Apis using 21 characters of adult morphology and behavior produces a single most parsimonious cladogram with a consistency index of 93. If the numerous autapomorphies for the genus Apis are excluded from the calculation of the consistency index, its value is 88. The tree topology is ((andreniformis + florea) + (dorsata group + (mellifera + (cerana + koschevnikovi)))). Implications of this phylogenetic hypothesis for ideas about the evolution of the dance language in Apis are discussed.