http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=2617784&blobtype=pdf
 > This suggests that, compared to the Western honeybee that has a  
longer history of domestication, selection on the Asiatic honeybee has  
favored the generation of more variable antimicrobial peptides as  
protection against pathogens.
Commentary

I don't think we can say definitively that the European honey bee has  
been "domesticated" longer than the Asian bees. Two things are  
lacking: records of when beekeeping really began, and a clear idea of  
what domestication even means when applied to honey bees. I would  
suggest that prior to Langstroth, beekeeping was little more than bee  
collecting. This is still practiced throughout the world, not that I  
regard it as necessarily a bad thing. I am not sure that the breeding  
of bees has been beneficial overall.

"Descriptions of disease of the European honeybee, Apis mellifera,  
date back to the 4th century BC, when Aristotle mentioned a number of  
disease conditions including lassitude" --  Lois K. Miller, Laurence  
Andrew Ball

"Apis cerana is still found in the wild, where it nests in tree holes,  
fallen logs, and crevices, but it is also one of the few bee species  
that can be domesticated. Like the Western honey bee, Apis cerana is  
kept by farmers for honey production and pollination. Traditionally  
the bees were kept in log hives"


Peter L Borst
Cohen Lab
VRT T3001
Cornell University
Ithaca NY 14853

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