In the areas where AHBs become established, they ARE the "feral" bees:


FERAL AFRICANIZED HONEY BEES (APIS MELLIFERA) 
IN SONORAN DESERT HABITATS OF SOUTHWESTERN ARIZONA

by MICHAEL J. RABE, et al

We collected bees at 54 sites in a 5,350-km2 study area in the Sonoran
Desert of southwestern Arizona. Among collected bees, 86.9% possessed
African mtDNA.

Because *all* sampled water locations had Africanized honeybees, the data
supported the prediction that Africanized colonies would predominate in
areas with mean high temperatures in the coldest months > 19 degrees C.

from 
THE SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST 
50(3):307–311 
SEPTEMBER 2005

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