> The rest of the discussion is intellectual philosophizing, citing genetic minutiae in a lightly veiled form of dueling.  

That's so well put! I am going to put that on the wall in my office. Meanwhile, if anyone followed up on the citation I offered, where they showed that even in "protected populations" there is constant ingression, they further stated:

> In western Europe, initiatives have emerged to protect the native subspecies i.e., the Western European dark bee, Apis mellifera mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Here, we investigated the honey bee subspecies diversity in a Mediterranean protected area, Calanques National Park, near Marseille, France. We found that the population of honey bees is mainly composed of hybrids between Apis mellifera mellifera and Apis mellifera intermissa. These hybrids might have a better resistance to the Varroa mite, &c.

The implication being that purebred isolated populations may in fact be more susceptible to parasites and pathogens than a mixed breed. We certainly see this in dogs: the purebreds are more frequently in need of veterinary care than mixed breeds. 

PLB

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