Close examination of the Italian bee in Italy has shown that it is a cross between Carniolans from the east and the west European black bee from the west

> Despite the worldwide enthusiasm for Italian honeybees, no global analysis of their genetic diversity has ever been conducted. According to morphometric analyses (Ruttner 1988), both Italian subspecies, A. m. ligustica in continental Italy and A. m. sicula in Sicily, were classified within the north Mediterranean branch C. 
> 
> A. m. ligustica bees across the entire Italian Peninsula were considered to be quite similar to the Austrian and Yugoslavian A. m. carnica from which they differ essentially by the yellow colour of their abdominal terga.
> 
> The natural distribution of the Italian honeybee A. m. ligustica or “yellow bee” is the Italian Peninsula, as it is confined by the Alps to the North and the Mediterranean Sea southwards. Its hybrid origin, derived from A. m. mellifera and A. m. carnica, has been well supported by molecular markers.  

Refs

Biodiversity, conservation and current threats to European honeybees. Pilar De la RuA, et al

Hybrid origins of honeybees from Italy (Apis mellifera ligustica) and Sicily (A. m. sicula). P. FRANCK, et al

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