>> Would the invasion of the AHB from the south not be an exception
>> where natural selection in some areas is definitely favouring the
>> new genes, and quite rapidly?

> This is where it gets tough. Is a man-created invasion the same as
> natural propagation of species across the globe?

Actually, this was not the question. The question was not about the
invasive species, but the rate of natural selection in the US (and
necessarily the contiguous countries).

The original statement being discussed was:

>>> I seriously doubt whether natural selection has had much effect
>>> on US honey bees, since human selected bees are far more
>>> numerous in most locales,

I think that the well documented adaptation and rebound of the feral
bees in Louisiana and elsewhere after an initial collapse due to the
spread of mites is another example where we see fairly rapid natural
selection.

Human activities have, of course, an influence, but it seems that the
bees themselves have adjusted.

Also, the Primorsky stock was the result of natural selection over a
period of only a century or so and imported for its ability to withstand
mites and other scourges.  After importation, the ARS has attempted,
successfully, it seems, to accelerate the selection and to reduce the
frequency of undesirable (from the human perspective) attributes and
emphasize desirable ones.

So, I submit we have imported bees which were considered superior due to
natural selection in their home region, then observed natural selection
in North America rapidly eliminating the colonies which could not deal
with mites and then replacing them with colonies which could.

I also submit that the results of natural selection are likely to be
more enduring than the changes we accomplish by our own puny human
methods. Although many special strains of bees have been bred over the
centuries, few endure without a great deal of human effort.

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