One of the most sensational biological phenomena of this century has been the rapid spread of the so called "Africanized" or "Killer bees" in the Americas. In the 33 years since their establishment as a feral population in southern Brazil, African derived bees have colonized all the tropical and subtropical regions of South and Central America. Tropical North America (Mexico) is now being colonized and this expanding population will reach the United States in 1990. Arrival of African honey bees is followed by rapid build-up of a feral population, numerous stinging incidents involving people and animals, "Africanization" of apiaries with eventual disappearance of beeswith traits characteristic of "native" European subspecies, and a decline in beekeeping and honey production. Movement of feral African bees into areas previously dominated by European bees provides a unique opportunity to obtain quantitative data on the changes that occur as these two genetically distinct populations interact. This research will focus on the population level and within colony processes that contribute to genetic changes in managed European and feral African populations. The investigators combine analytical and experimental approaches to assess "Europeanization" and "Africanization" by measuring the rates of genetic change with the use of nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers. These two types of genetic information will allow them to establish the relative contributions of maternal and paternal gene flow to these processes and to determine where selection is acting most intensely in the system. The results of this study will provide a comprehensive view of the genetic interactions between feral and managed honey bee populations. Information obtained in this study also will be valuable to decision makers charged with development of public policies and methodologies to control African bees.
