Hi all
I am sorry that this topic got so sidetracked, the central point for me is not whether bees in USA are Italian, Carniolan, or Fastbuck. The point is whether they contain the genetic resources to thrive under a variety of circumstances and defend themselves against health threats. This point is underscored in the following statement from Oldroyd, et al:

Despite the undoubted benefits of maintaining local
strains and subspecies of A. mellifera, it is also clear that interbreeding
between different subspecies of A. mellifera increases the
genetic diversity both within populations and in individual
colonies (Harpur et al. 2012), and that this increased
diversity can have significant economic benefits. 

High levels of genetic diversity in honeybee colonies show
increased resistance to some diseases and improved 
colony productivity and survival. 

Consequently we argue that hybridization between European
subspecies of the Western honeybee is not such a
major conservation issue in regions where this has been
ongoing for decades and as long as programs to conserve
isolated, intact populations continue.

Byatt, M. A., Chapman, N. C., Latty, T., & Oldroyd, B. P. (2016). 
The genetic consequences of the anthropogenic movement of social bees. 
Insectes sociaux, 63(1), 15-24.

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