Steve > If so why and why are not Italian bees considered different species to my North European Dark bees? 

Italian bees and the Welsh black bee are the same species - Apis mellifera. The subspecies you are questioning are ligustica and mellifera.  The black bee you are referring to is the same Dark European ( Apis m. mellifera)  that's a native bee once found throughout the British Isles also referred to as the English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh "black bee".  Totally capable of reproduction with any other Apis mellifera subspecies  - all 26 or so. 

With the "Isle of Wight Disease" occurrence, most of the native black bee population was decimated and Buckfast queens, then later, Italians, and Carniolans took their place.  At one point the black bee was thought to be extinct, but that has since been dismissed.  I think it's reasonable to assume that if you indeed run a "near-native" black bee it will do well no matter what you call it. But it occurs to me that what one thinks of as a native black bee in Wales is just as likely a blend of subspecies including genes from both Italian and Carniolans given the history of queen imports over many decades.  

I think it's better to find a bee that seems to do well and breed from that bee and avoid the alluring discussion that a particular bee belongs to a given subspecies.  Especially if you use color as a determination of race since color is a minor characteristic genetically. 


>A review of methods for discrimination of honey bee populations as applied to European beekeeping
Maria Bouga et al. 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3896/IBRA.1.50.1.06


Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT  

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