ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the genetic diversity of honey bee populations and identify characteristics of the bee hybridization in Siberia. Preservation of specificity and optimal level of genetic diversity of native Apis mellifera populations is one of the most important conditions of the existence and sustainable development of beekeeping. The honey bee A. mellifera was introduced into Siberia at the end of the 18th century. Mass bee hybridization leads to the destruction of the evolutionarily established genetic complexes of the honey bee subspecies, the loss of unique gene pools of different bee breeds, and the purebredness of bee colonies. The differences in the variability of the studied microsatellite loci detected in honey bees of different origins were used to assess the genetic diversity of hybrid bees obtained from apiaries of the Tomsk region. The natural distribution area of Apis mellifera L. includes Africa and Eurasia.
