Hi Michael, Acebird, Sydney Guy,
I'm in Melbourne, Australia.
I think the local/feral versus purchased queens is different in Australia to USA.
Michael has to cope with Verroa mite/Colony Collapse etc and local queens with high local resistance it a valid way to go.
Reading his website he has some great adaptions (local queens, natural cell etc).
My problem isn't disease. No Verroa of course, and virtually no hive beetle or any other disease I can recognize and my colonies never die out.
My problem is given the mild climate and abundant variety of Pollen/Nectar in the suburbs of Melbourne is that they swarm every year
and the swarms annoy neighbors. Also the bees are aggressive and hard to work with (not super aggressive but more than I want for suburbs).
I suspect the local/feral queens are adapted to swarm frequently to take advantage of the conditions.
(I've added my location to the profile, good call).
Cheers
Damien