. Should my
> "hypothesis" be right, regardless of the origin of the original Spanish
> bees, introduction of Egyptian genetic material could have contributed to
> the development of one of the worlds best races of bees, the Iberian.
> Based on eight years of experience, I have yet to see a better bee (than
> the Iberian).  Granted, they are a little feisty; hence my belief that
> they may have african genes in them, but they are hard workers and
> disease resistant as any other race with which I have worked.  I am sure
> that perhaps you can add some of  your expertise to this very important
> thread.
 
The good Dr's "hypothesis" would be for the natural development.
 
We know that over the last 100 years, the Italian bee as we now know it has been a mixing of a few races.  It started by using the original Ligurian and mixing with the Egyptian bee and also what was called the Holyland bee.  This is why our Italian is golden when compared to the colour of the Ligurian.
 
There may even be a mixture of other races in the Italian also.
 
Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA