Abstract
Since the introduction of an African subspecies into Brazil in the mid-1950's1, descendent ‘Africanized’ honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have spread throughout the Neotropics and into temperate North America. Restriction enzyme analysis of 422 feral honey bee colonies collected from non-Africanized areas in the southern United States revealed that over 21% of them had mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) derived from a European race established in North America by the 17th century, 77% of them had mtDNA common in honey bees maintained by beekeepers and about 1% exhibited African mtDNA. Further analysis revealed that the African mtDNA was derived from a north African subspecies imported to the US in the 19th century.
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Schiff, N.M., Sheppard, W.S. Mitochondrial DNA evidence for the 19th century introduction of African honey bees into the United States. Experientia 49, 530–532 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01955156
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01955156