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Yeah I watched a documentary on africanization and they saved that bit about varoa resistance toward the end. Nature is making a pretty big pot of lemonade there.

Weren't the scientists that accidentally released african bees in south america trying to study hybridization benefits? Ironically they are getting their wish.

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Completely agree. I think one main goal of introducing an African/European hybrid was to improve the productivity in tropical and sub-tropical climates (Central/South America) and arid climates (parts of northern Mexico and southern US) where the introduced European bees were less well-adapted.

It's now well-documented that African bees are considerably more defensive, making beekeeping challenging, although not impossible. While this is less desirable for humans, it turns out to be a very valuable set of behaviors for bees in the right environment.

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