When African and European Lineages Meet: The Genetic Landscape of Honey Bees in Argentina

Argentina has a complex and diverse landscape of honeybee ( Apis mellifera sp.) populations shaped by historic introductions and hybridization between Africanized (AHB) and European (EHB) lineages. While a latitudinal cline of Africanization has been documented, the adaptive consequences of this genetic admixture and its implications for local beekeeping practices remain poorly understood. In this study, we provide a more in‐depth analysis of Argentine honeybee populations using recently published data from a panel of 272 SNP markers across five ecoregions to: (1) quantify how ancestry proportion (African A, European C/M) varies along geographic gradients, (2) assess whether ecoregion boundaries influence population structure, and (3) evaluate the potential trade‐offs between AHB and EHB ancestry in hybrid genomes. Our results confirm a strong latitudinal pattern of Africanization but reveal novel complexity, with C‐lineage ancestry inversely correlated with A‐lineage contributions while M‐lineage ancestry remains independent. We also detected trace contributions from the O lineage (Middle Eastern), highlighting Argentina's complex admixture history. Despite Argentina's diverse ecoregions, we find limited evidence for ecotype‐specific differentiation, suggesting gene flow may outweigh local adaptation—though sampling limitations warrant caution. By linking genetic patterns to apicultural relevance (e.g., AHB's northward expansion and hybridization zones), this study provides a framework for conserving genetic diversity and managing hive productivity across environmental gradients. Further genome‐wide analyses are needed to disentangle adaptive traits in this understudied yet economically critical pollinator system.