6
 it is not possible to know the genotype of each queen bee introduced, nor

 many details of the events contributing to the establishment of New World

 honey bee populations, some reconstruction can be acheived by studying

 contemporary bees in the Old and New World. Evidence is provided that

 reflects the racial composition of Central and South American bees prior to the

 introduction of African bees, and indicates the occurrence of some, albeit

 limited, hybridization of European and African bees.



 Materials and Methods


 Sources of honey bees. Protocols described by Hall (1986, 1990) for the

collection, caste determination, and preservation of bees were followed without

modification. Drones were collected as larvae and pupae.

 South African samples, from four locations in the Transvaal, were

collected in January 1990 by HGH. Brood samples from a colony in So Frango,

Brasilia, were obtained in 1990 by J. Maruniak, University of Florida. Honduran

samples included drones from feral colonies and from managed colonies

established from feral swarms, collected in November 1989 by HGH and A.

Suazo, Escuela Agricola Panamericana, Honduras. Samples from Tapachula,

Mexico, obtained in January 1988 by HGH, were from feral swarms captured

in bait hives maintained by the Mexican agency Secretariat of Agriculture and

Hydrologic Resources (SARH), and from two managed apiaries. Sources of

USA drones included a closed breeding population maintained in Arizona,