The abdominal tergites... are numbered as shown in
the diagram at right.
The tomenta are considered as narrow (less than 50% of tergite),
Medium at about 50% and broad if more than 50%.
The 4th tergite... is the segment that we judge the tomentum
width.
(I apologise for the large size of
these drawings but it helps to stess the differences.)
These would be
considered narrow tomenta.
These would be
considered medium tomenta.
These would be
considered Broad tomenta.
The overhair length... is judged on the 5th tergite and is
measured with respect to a 0.40 mm wire "feeler guage". (For specially
adapted measuring eyepiece see
Morphometry Tools .)
Short Overhair... is anything
up to 0.35 mm. Medium Overhair... is that which falls in
the range of 0.35 mm - 0.40 mm. Long Overhair... is
anything longer than 0.40 mm.
Apis Mellifera Mellifera has
narrow tomenta and long overhair. This compares with Italian strains
that have broad bands of very short hair.
