Africanized Honey Bee Facts

Africanized bees, also known as killer bees, are hybrids of the African honey bee which are a hostile and invasive species. This Africanized honey bee will violently attack humans and animals that come near their hive which has earned them the nickname of killer bees. The Africanized bees are extremely protective of their hive and easily very easily provoked.

These bees can be found in every continent except Antarctica and normally can be found in tires, boxes, rotted logs, holes, cracks in house or building.

Looking back at the history, the Africanized bees in America begun in 1957 when the a replacement bee-keeper accidentally released 26 Tanzanian queen bees and drones which were being used for research purposes. A biologist named Kerr was trying to breed the African honeybees with a European bee species so that the offspring could produce more honey and could easily adapt to tropical conditions.

After the accidental released, the bees started to breed with the Brazilian bees and produced what we now know as Africanized honeybees or as the media likes to say killer bees. Their descendants have spread throughout the Americas since the 50's and continues to spread every year.

The Africanized honey bee or "AHB" is closely related to the European honey bee used in agriculture for crop pollination and honey production. The two types of bees look the same and their behavior is similar in many respects. Neither is likely to sting when gathering nectar and pollen from flowers but both will sting in defense if provoked.

A Swarm of bees in flight or briefly at rest seldom bothers people; however all bees become defensive when they settle begin producing wax comb and when raising their young.

In the past, the media has given the AHB a bad name, labeling it the 'killer bee,' over-dramatizing incidents, and focusing only on the insect's negative characteristics. In turn, the public has adopted an unbalanced attitude toward the AHB, afraid that the 'killer bees' could hunt someone down at any time. However, this view is unfounded and unnecessary. Honey bees are one of the most beneficial pollinators in the world; they ensure the production of about one-third of our food! Also, they are responsible for all the delicious honey and honey-based products that we enjoy.

The AHB is not much different from the European honey bee that American beekeepers use; it's almost the same size (a little smaller, actually), it does the same job of pollinating various flowers, and its sting is not any more potent. So why all of the attention? The AHB characteristic that concerns the public most is its defensiveness. All honey bees are defensive; that means if a colony is disturbed, bees will come out of the hive to defend against the possible intruder. European honey bees will send out 5-10 bees to defend an area about 20 feet around the colony, but if an AHB colony is disturbed, it may send out several hundred bees to defend an area up to 40 yards around the colony. If you ever find yourself in the midst of defensive bees, it's best to leave the area of the colony as soon as possible.

Another AHB characteristic that concerns the public is its ability to nest anywhere. Most properties located in rural areas house many potential nesting sites for feral (wild) honey bee colonies. These colonies could be AHBs or not (one can not tell for sure without laboratory testing), but it is not worth the risk to residents or others who may be on the property to allow a feral colony to remain.

Africanized and European Honey Bees:

• Look the same

• Protect their nest and sting in defense

• Can sting only once

• Have the same venom

• Pollinate flowers

• Produce honey and wax

Differences between Africanized Honey Bees and European Honey: Bees.

Africanized honey bees and European honey bees are the same species - they look the same, sting in defense of themselves or their nest, can only sting once, and have the same venom. Africanized honey bees are slightly smaller (but because the bees look so much alike only a laboratory analysis can tell them apart). They also differ in that they respond more quickly and more bees sting, can sense a threat from people or animals 50 feet or more from their nest, sense vibrations from power equipment 100 feet or more from their nest, may pursue a victim 1/4 to 1/2 mile, remain agitated for an hour or more after an attack, Swarm frequently to establish new nests, nest in smaller cavities and sheltered areas, and move their entire colony readily if food is scarce. Away from the hive, however, they are no more defensive than other bees or Wasps. They will not form large swarms and hunt for you.

Africanized honey bees are less predictable and more defensive than European honey bees. They are more likely to defend a greater area around their nest. They respond faster and in greater numbers although each bee can sting only once.

Africanized Honey Bees:

AHB nest in many locations where people may encounter them. Nesting sites include: empty boxes cans buckets or other containers; old tires; infrequently used vehicles; lumber piles; holes and cavities in fences trees or the ground; sheds garages and other outbuildings and low decks or spaces under buildings. Remove potential nest sites around buildings. Be careful wherever bees are present.

With all the bad publicity the Africanized bee has had in the western hemisphere, the African honey bee is the preferred bee of African beekeepers. In its homeland, the AHB is prized as a good honey producer thriving on erratic food supplies in a semi-desert climate with severe droughts. African bees tend to be 10% smaller than European bees. Additionally, they are 25% lighter, reproduce earlier, and have a shorter lifespan.

Another African bee kept by beekeepers is the Cape honey bee. The Cape bee's native territory was only on the Cape Coast on the tip of South Africa. The bees did not interbreed until the 90s when beekeepers started moving hives between the two territories. After moving Cape bees into AHB territory, the Cape bee started invading the hives of AHBs. Within a year, tens of thousands of hives, equaling 50% of the managed AHB hives, had to be destroyed.

A Cape worker bee is not like other honey worker bees. She is capable of laying eggs that produce fully functional queens from unfertilized eggs (thelytoky)! (Cape workers do not exhibit this behavior in a queen right Cape colony). Cape worker bees invade the hives of AHBs. Most are killed by the hive residents, but a few escape detection and are absorbed into the hive, setting off a chain of events that will eventually cause collapse of the hive. Cape bee laying workers emit queen-like pheromones exerting reproductive control. The Cape worker tricks the resident bees into treating her like a queen, with the African bees eventually killing their own queen. Colonies taken over by Cape bees will no longer accept AHB queens. The eggs laid by the Cape worker develop into females who beg for food, eating more than their African bee nest mates. With less AHB foragers the food supply is soon depleted, the colony collapses, and the Cape bees leave to find another place to freeload.

Using Cape bees to eradicate the Africanized bee in America is not the solution. They would destroy the European honey bee population just as they are destroying the African honey bee population in Africa