>If there are locally adapted bees in the USA they are likely to be either some sort of mongrel with specific survival traits, or a refugee population like the one on Catalina Island. I would sure like to take a look at those Catalina bees.

 
After 120 plus years of unmanaged and varroa free survival, I'd say they are an example of locally adapted. Especially since their odorant receptor genes show differentiation from mainland California bees which is likely an adaptation to local flora.

They're an example of a kind of local adaptation on one end of a continuum with the other end being the more challenging environment we find ourselves dealing with. It would be interesting to see if they could survive on the mainland.  


>Our analysis uncovered the existence of a third modern
population in Catalina Island, which is located off the coast
of California near Los Angeles. This population is genetically
distinct from the mainland populations...... This population is likely
to have been on the island for some time, possibly since 1890,
when A. mellifera was introduced on nearby Santa Cruz Island
(Wenner and Thorp 1994) and there are no managed bees on
the island. Additionally, this population is likely to be free of
Varroa mites. The Varroa mite was never found on Santa Cruz
Island until it was introduced in an effort to biologically control
honey bees (Wenner and Thorp 1994) and is therefore also
unlikely to have made it to Santa Catalina Island. Moreover,
the genetic differences between the mainland population and
Santa Catalina Island indicate that there is little to no gene
flow between the populations, and thus little opportunity for
the transfer of mites. This population provides an interesting
look into past honey bee populations and has likely undergone
adaptation to the local environment.

>Genome Sequencing of Museum Specimens Reveals Rapid Changes in the Genetic Composition of Honey Bees in California
Julie M. Cridland1, Santiago R. Ramirez1, Cheryl A. Dean1, Amber Sciligo2, and Neil D. Tsutsui
Genome Biol. Evol. 10(2):458–472. doi:10.1093/gbe/evy007 Advance Access publication January 15, 2018

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