> I think it is important that the original poster define exactly what
are "Local bees".

I think that it would be presumptuous of me to 'define' any word in the English language.

The Oxford English dictionary - clearly more qualified to do so than me - gives:
'Relating or restricted to a particular area or one’s neighbourhood'

The Cambridge dictionary gives:
'From, ​existing in, ​serving, or ​responsible for a ​small ​area, ​especially of a ​country'

Clearly there is no precise measurement of what is, or is not, local, but 'neighbourhood' and 'small area' seem quite clear to me.  We cannot draw an arbitrary circle around an area and declare that everything outside that circle is not local, but I doubt that many would not understand the concept of 'local'.  (If all this seems a bit pedantic then please remember that it was not me that saw the need to explain 'local'!)

It therefore follows that local bees must come from the area 'local' to the particular beekeeper.  As far as I am concerned, that would encompass as much of the surrounding area as has similar climate and forage.

The original paper is here:
http://www.coloss.org/announcements/j-apic-res-special-issue-honey-bee-genotypes-and-the-environment
so perhaps the question should be asked of the authors if anyone wants to be really pedantic.  For me, this is the real meat of the paper:

'There is now growing evidence of the adverse effects of the global
trade in honey bees, which has led to the spread of novel pests and
diseases such as the varroa mite and Nosema ceranae (Paxton, 2010;
Mutinelli 2011, Fürst et al., 2014). We hope that the evidence provided
within the papers of this Special Issue will inspire beekeepers and
scientists to explore and appreciate the value of locally bred bees, by
developing and supporting breeding programmes. Damage from 
importations may arise from accompanying pests and pathogens, but
it is also inevitable that introduced bees represent a burden to the
genetic integrity of local populations. The spread of imported genes
into the local population is likely, and the resulting increase in genetic
diversity is not universally beneficial. Since maladapted genes will be
selected against, this process may well in the short term contribute to
colony losses, and is in the long term, unsustainable.'

No doubt that is not what the exporters want to hear.

Best wishes

Peter 
52°14'44.44"N, 1°50'35"W 

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