More on bee subspecies. This is from 2011, but things are not much different

> To date, the only significant use of molecular techniques to study British honey bees has been as part of the EU funded project “Beekeeping and Apis Biodiversity in Europe” (BABE). These limited studies confirmed that A. m. mellifera does indeed still exist. Samples from England, Ireland, and Scotland were found to be closely related to samples collected from France, and Læsø, Denmark, as well as to samples from Tasmania, Australia, known to have been descended from bees imported from England in the 19th Century (Jensen and Pederson, 2005). 

> Intriguingly, two other samples from the east coast of England were found to be indistinguishable from samples from Norway and Sweden, raising the possibility that Viking settlers in the 10th century brought honey bees with them. BIBBA is currently organising an ambitions “Project Discovery” which aims to collect bee samples from throughout the British Isles for molecular studies to provide information on their origins.

> It is clear, however, that most bees, especially in the south east of England are mongrels, derived from many races, and individual beekeepers champion different strains. Ironically, despite its origin in England and popularity worldwide, the Buckfast bee has not been commercially available in Britain for many years, so is not widely used. In the remoter parts of south west and northern England, and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, the bees tend to be dark, and of “near-native” type.

Bouga, M., et al (2011). A review of methods for discrimination of honey bee populations as applied to European beekeeping.
Journal of Apicultural Research 50(1): 51-84 (2011) © IBRA 2011

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