>
> > Ok- can you offer what kind of DNA analysis would confirm and that a
> colony is Africanized if, for some reason, one needed to know?
>

Bill, you're begging the question.  What do you mean by "Africanized"?

There is free flow of nuclear alleles between our Africanized population in
the South and our European populations in the North.  There is also some
mitochondrial flow.  Two recent studies from UC Davis made this clear.  For
example, the mitochondrial DNA in a Buckfast bee resulting in an
identification as "African," despite no indication of exaggerated
defensiveness (the Buckfast line is generally considered to be gentle).

We can assume that alleles that confer fitness value to Northern bees will
introgress into those populations from the Africans.  But that doesn't mean
that those alleles will necessarily make the Northern bees more defensive.

I recall reading a recent study that found one nuclear allele that was
associated with upregulated defensiveness--that gene might be used for a
practical test.

I'm in agreement with Pete that the best practical determinant is not
necessarily genetic (although that is an easy criterion for border
inspection or other legal matters), but rather a behavioral assay, such as
stinging response to a leather ball, or perhaps Jerry Bromenshenk's
vibrational frequency of Africans vs. Europeans.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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