'Part of that answer I think is more of an external trigger we can't
see or define than the either genetic or adaptations.    I can see at times
the water on the terms can get muddy. '


What's muddy is your understanding of the biology.  And you are not alone, as epigenetics is a (relatively) new area of research.  One way to think about it would be to imagine that the genome isn't just cranking out "traits" without input from the environment.  A simple (very simple) example is the bacterial operon.  The lactose operon is a cluster of genes that responds to the presence of lactose around the bacterium.  The organism has those genes and they make lactase to break down lactose, but they don't make lactase unless lactose is actually there...very sensible, really....why waste the effort?


Now it turns out that genomic responsiveness to the environment can be heritable without changing anything in the genome.   This means that a local population will respond more predictably to certain environmental triggers than a "population" (read beehives) that is moved into the neighborhood temporarily from somewhere else.   So, epigenetics results in much more complexity to the story of "breeding" or simple genetics, as we are discovering, among higher organisms which will include bees.  Their responses to the environment, be it "hygenic behavior", "nectar gathering", "winterizing", or whatever, is not as simple as we would like it to be....these are not simple "traits" like hair color, they are complex behaviors that can be adapted through epigenetic changes over time to local environmental triggers.  And you won't necessarily find any changes in the genes themselves.  Wikipedia does a pretty good job at explaining "epigenetics".


This is really great news, in my opinion.  It shows us how wonderfully equipped the bees are to adjust to changes in their environment without necessarily having to wait for a mutation to come along.  However it also shows us that bees and their genomes are not so conveniently manipulated as some would like us to believe.  Also a good thing, IMO, because we humans are like bulls in a china shop where genetics and environmental management are concerned....acting first, then "oops" later.

So, I hypothesize that somebody else's "hygenic bees" may or may not work out that well for you, in your yard and in your local conditions.  They might be great in the place where they come from, but once they are moved, there is a good chance that the behavior can become altered.   This is my hunch, it's not supported by any research...but I believe it is a sound hunch based on what we are learning about epigenetic phenomena.

Christina

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