Hi all
Actually, I exchanged emails with Dr. Oldroyd on this topic he. He says, in part

> Compared with other livestock, honey bees have seen limited long term gains achieved through selective breeding programs. Few bee breeding programmes have been successful in the long term, constrained by limited progress in trait improvement, the detrimental effects of inbreeding and poor returns on investment. 

> I think in part its because of the short lifespan of queens.  Beekeepers are not going to pay $10 k for an insect that could die on introduction.   Its therefore difficult for a market to support the high costs of a breeding program.

> Of course there are lots of great bees around, but we haven’t gone to the next level of having breeds like 'shorthorns' or 'Angus', that when you see them in a pasture you instantly know what they are.  You might be able to say 'Italians' but that wouldn’t identify their provenance that well, and we have both good and bad bees of that appearance.

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