alleles detected and the values of genetic diversity. This suggests the genetic relationship between populations of Andalusia and North Africa. Studied be populations of Portugal there were no major differences between different geographical locations. Morphometric studies of Apis mellifera iberiensis populations in Asturias and northern Iberian Peninsula indicated that the Cantabrian Mountains produces insulation allowing for differences between populations. The results of microsatellites vary markedly between provinces. In Cadiz haplotype homogeneity contrasts with the microsatellite variability, suggesting the occurrence of recent phenomena of introgression from populations with African haplotypes, whose origin is indeterminate. In the early 1500s, the Apis mellifera iberiensis was introduced to the Americas, and in the following centuries other subspecies were imported, spreading throughout the Americas. References mellifera iberiensis Western honey bee breeds Insects described in 1999