Just published, the authors looked into the genetic composition of the
bees in the 3 northwestern states of Mexico: Sonora, Baja California
North and Baja California South (BCS). African bees were first
discovered in Sonora (which borders Arizona) in 1993. Baja California
South is the southern end of one of the longest peninsulas in the
world and has had an isolated population for decades, which makes it a
haven for queen breeders hoping to raise and sell non-Africanized
queens in Mexico. However, the study calls into question the status as
an African-free zone, despite its nearly island status. The region is
separated from the rest of Mexico by oceans on all but the northern
end, which is a vast and inhospitable desert. How the African bees got
to the region is a question:

> It may be possible that swarms find it more difficult to travel to the southern part of the Peninsula given the extreme climatic conditions and the mountain barriers found across the area. However,evidence of AHB colonization such as a high number of migrating swarms has been recently reported in BCS.

> In this study we confirmed the presence of AHB in NW México by both morphometrics and molecular markers. We also found a high frequency of colonies with European markers in the managed population and evidence of colonies with mixed morphotype and haplotype. These results are in contrast with the high frequency of African-derived markers found in tropical populations in México.

> The southern part of Baja California Sur (BCS) remains officially as an Africanized free zone. However, the status as an Africanized honey bee free zone should be revised since there is evidence that hybridization is now occurring and soon the genetic composition of European breeding stock may include African genes.

"Frequency of European and African-derived morphotypes and haplotypes
in colonies of honey bees (Apis mellifera) from NW Mexico" by Omar
Zamora, et al;  in: Apidologie 39 (2008) DOI: 10.1051/apido:2008016

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