Apis mellifera Targeted loci from museum preserved specimens

The European Honeybee, a key pollinator, has been reported to have suffered significant colony losses at least since 2006, when the first cases of Colony Collapse Disorder were reported in the United States. Similar losses have been observed in Europe and Asia. A combination of factors is suggested to be responsible for these losses, including a possible decrease in genetic diversity, which could, for example, contribute to a narrower range of hygienic behaviours, or limit the immune response.To test this hypothesis, we sequenced 2 Mbp of the genomes of 40 specimens of European honeybees collected from 1850 to 2006 and compared it to genomic data from 40 post-2006 honeybees. The results from our phylogenetic inference and admixture analysis are consistent with the existence of five evolutionary lineages of honeybees, as previously described. The ancient European individuals show high levels of admixture but even when analysing unadmixed individuals we find higher levels of genetic diversity than in modern ones of the same lineage.Our results confirm that a loss of genetic diversity has occurred during the last century, potentially increasing their vulnerability to contemporary ecological and anthropogenic stressors.