> An example of a successful hybrid cross is the Africanized bee--a cross between several races of Apis mellifera, which hit a winning formula consisting of mix of alleles from each parental type.

Hi Randy
Thanks for the in-depth response. It sometimes irks me that people are unwilling to really enter into a discussion, preferring twitter-like retorts lacking substance or thought. Regarding the above, this is the same conclusion I reached in my research. 

I have used bees from Texas which no doubt could be described by the above statement, but they were unsuitable for suburban beekeeping. No doubt they could be used to advantage in areas where there aren't usually people around.

> Notwithstanding the characteristics of African honeybee races that pre-adapt them to varroa tolerance, the lack of breeding and artificial selection in African honeybees is certain to be a critical factor in varroa mites not becoming a major problem in South Africa as it has almost throughout the world. -- Allsopp, 2006

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