Bob writes

> In other words in the south we will never see all colonies a. mellifera scutellata in my opinion. In fact most of the AHb issue is kept alive by researchers which have never seen an AHB colony.

One, who ever said all colonies in the south would be scuts? Two, researchers have been working hands on with African bees in Arizona, Texas, Mexico, etc, for decades

They say:

> The expansion of Africanized honeybees (AHB) through the Americas has been one of the most spectacular and best-studied invasions by a biotype. African and European honeybees (EHB) hybridize, but with time, tropical and subtropical American environments have become dominated by AHB that exhibit only 20–35% genetic contribution from western European bees, and a predominance of African behavioral and physiological traits. EHB persist in temperate
environments.

And:

> In summary, it is not possible to predict the geographic range and impact of the African bee in the United States at this time. [2004] The rate of expansion probably will be slower and the persistence of European traits may increase as the bee moves northward.

Which is what you are saying, I think. However, the bees are on the move and they are all over Oklahoma these days. See "Genetic Variation South Central US", by Roxanne Magnus

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