Greetings

First, let me say that I am interested in discussing this or any other bee-related topic as deeply as anyone wants. I am not interested in skimming the surface or flitting about.  The laws regarding the keeping of bees are regulated by the states. The importation of bees is overseen by the federal government. The question of African bee genetics is extremely complicated and ultimately whether or not to keep a particular colony should hinge on behavior, not detailed genetic analysis. Most of the relevant information about the lineages can be gotten from the wing veins (morphology). 

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Apis mellifera originated in Africa and extended its range into Eurasia in two or more ancient expansions. In 1956, honey bees of African origin were introduced into South America, their descendents admixing with previously introduced European bees, giving rise to the highly invasive and economically devastating "Africanized" honey bee.

A genome-wide signature of positive selection in ancient and recent invasive expansions of the honey bee Apis mellifera
Amro Zayed and Charles W. Whitfield

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There is historical evidence that at least eight different subspecies of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera L., representing three different lineages: Eastern European 'C', Near East and Middle East 'O', and Western European 'M', have been introduced to the United States before the arrival of Africanized bees. 

A. m. Mellifera L., the "Dark Bee" of Northern and Western Europe, 'M' lineage was the first subspecies to be introduced in the 1600's and was the primary honey bee in the United Sates until the importation of A. m. ligustica Spinola, 'C' lineage started in the mid 1800s. 

The distribution and origin of the Near East and Middle Eastern 'O' lineage extends along the Mediterranean including Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Cyprus and Turkey.

Subspecies from the Middle Eastern 'O' lineage were introduced in the 1880s and 1890s and by the end of the century, importation of this lineage stopped due to its less desirable behavioral traits relative to the other lineages that were being imported.

The subspecies most commonly used by the beekeeping industry in the United States today are A. m. ligustica Spinola and A. m. carnica Pollman both of which belong to the 'C' lineage. 

Before the introduction of Africanized honey bees in the United States, feral honey bees were a mix of the ancestors from Eurasia which were mostly of the 'C' lineage and also had a mixture of the 'M' and 'O' lineage. After Africanization, feral bees were mostly of the African race based on morphology with a mixture of the 'M' and 'C' lineage but exhibited less of the 'O' lineage.

Genetic Evidence for Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) of Middle Eastern Lineage in the United State
Roxane Magnus & Allen L. Szalanski

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