Bob writes
> AHB genetics can be found (if looked for) in most migratory operations I have been told. No restricitions of migratory movement in and out of areas

There is a world of difference between bees with African DNA markers
left over from spot imports of bees from Spain, Morocco, Egypt, and
even Scuts  -- and the massive invasion of essentially pure Scuts from
South America. Advanced molecular techniques are required to uncover
such genetic markers but the African bees in the USA have visible
measurable characteristics that differentiate them from run of the
mill US honey bees. By the way, the movement of African bees INTO New
York State is illegal. Don't bring them here.

SEE:
Agricultural Research: What's Buzzing with Africanized Honey Bees?
March 2004, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, by J. Kim Kaplan

excerpts:

Africanized honey bees are so called because it was assumed that the
African honey bees spreading out from Brazil would interbreed with
existing feral EHBs and create a hybridized, or Africanized, honey
bee.

This has always been a major question for researchers—what, if any,
type of interbreeding would happen between AHBs and EHBs and how would
this affect honey bee traits that are important to people, such as
swarming and absconding, manageability for beekeepers, honey
production, and temper.

Many experts expected that the farther from a tropical climate AHBs
spread, the more they would interbreed with EHBs. But it appears that
interbreeding is a transient condition in the United States, according
to ARS entomologist Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman. She is research leader at
the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Arizona, and ARS
national coordinator for AHB research.

"Early on, we thought the mixing would reach a steady state of
hybridization, because we knew the two groups of bees can easily
interbreed and produce young," DeGrandi-Hoffman says. "But while
substantial hybridization does occur when AHBs first move into areas
with strong resident EHB populations, over time European traits tend
to be lost.

Some African traits are genetically dominant, such as queen behavior,
defensiveness, and some aspects of foraging behavior. This doesn't
mean that EHB genes disappear, but rather that hybrid bees express
more pure African traits. The persistence of some EHB genes is why the
invading bees are still considered Africanized rather than African,
regardless of trait expression, she points out.

AHB swarms practice "nest usurpation," meaning they invade EHB
colonies and replace resident queens with the swarm's African queen.
Nest usurpation causes loss of European matrilines as well as
patrilines. "In Arizona, we've seen usurpation rates as high as 20 to
30 percent," says DeGrandi-Hoffman.

* * *

SEE:
Environmental physiology of the invasion of the Americas by
Africanized honeybees
Jon F. Harrison

excerpts

One of the best documented traits of AHB is a
greater foraging preference for pollen relative to EHB
(Winston 1992). This may be a central component
of the higher growth rates observed in AHB in the
tropics, as pollen serves as a nutrient source for brood
production. Conversely, a focus on nectar collection
allows EHB to accumulate larger stores of honey,
enhancing overwintering capacity (Winston 1992).

Differences in preference for pollen versus nectar
between AHB and EHB are observed in co-fostered
bees (providing a common environment), suggesting
a genetic basis to these differences

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