Angel-Beamonte, ErnestoSantolaria, PilarCortés-Calvo, SusanaGonzalvo, MiriamMuñoz Gabaldón, IreneDe la Rúa, PilarEspejo, PabloYániz, Jesús2025-11-182025-11-182024-06-17Angel-Beamonte, E., Santolaria, P., Cortés-Calvo, S., Gonzalvo, M., Muñoz Gabaldón, I., De la Rúa, P., Espejo, P., & Yániz, J. (2025). Wing morphometric analysis using smartphone images and a free MATLAB-based tool: a case study with Apis mellifera from the Balearic Islands. Journal of Apicultural Research, 64(3), 971-980. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.23654900021-883910.1080/00218839.2024.2365490https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/126194Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the Grup Balear de Cria i Selecció Dotze Reines, Asociación ASAN, ADS Apícola Nº1 Huesca, Asociación Malagueña de Apicultores and Benigno Basteiro for providing samples and/or wing images. Funding This work was supported by the Spanish AEI-MICINN (grant PID2020-112673RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the DGA-FSE (grant A07_23R).This study was designed to validate the new software WingMarks2 for the fully automatic and complete geometric morphometric analysis of the forewing venation structure in the honey bee and to apply this software for the morphometric analysis of Apis mellifera iberiensis in the Balearic Islands. Three experiments were performed to evaluate the ability of WingMarks2 software to analyze wing images obtained with different optical equipment (experiment 1), to check its ability to discriminate between six subspecies of Apis mellifera (experiment 2), to compare WingMarks2 and DeepWings software programs in their capabilities for detecting wing landmarks and associating them with specific subspecies (experiment 3) and to determine if there is a morphometric differentiation of A. m. iberiensis in the Balearic Islands when compared to those of the Iberian Peninsula (experiment 4). In experiment 1, WingMarks2 software allowed the automatic and accurate analysis of 91.7%, 95.2%, and 91.5% of the wings analyzed when using Leica microscope, Celestron USB microscope and Xiaomi Smartphone images, respectively. The results of experiment 2 showed that, overall, the cross-validated correct identification rate was 97.4% for the subspecies as a whole and ranged between 94% and 100% for the individual subspecies. In experiment 3, WingMarks2 proved more efficient than DeepWings in correctly processing the wings and assigning them to the subspecies. Finally, in experiment 4, the application of the new WingMarks2 software allowed us to identify a morphometric differentiation of A. m. iberiensis in the Balearic Islands when compared to those of the Iberian Peninsula.engjournal article2078-6913https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.2365490restricted access004.4595.79591.4Apis melliferaGeometric morphometrySoftwareConservationEcotypesInsectosBiologíaZoologíaEvoluciónGenéticaEcología (Biología)2401 Biología Animal (Zoología)2401.14-3 Taxonomía Animal. Insectos2409 Genética2302.21 Biología Molecular2404 Biomatemáticas2405 Biometría