> Feral has been used in a number of responses and so I wonder if everyone is defining the term the same way

Quite the opposite, of course. Everyone is using it in a different way. If you look at it simply, feral comes from the Latin for "wild." I suggest leaving aside the question of whether bees are ever truly domesticated, or if they are still the same as bees before human contact. 

I see a clear distinction between hive bees and those living on their own without any interference (whether in a tree, cave or abandoned house). Kept bees vs. feral bees. The question of the genetic structure of the populations is not going to be resolved any time soon.

PLB

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