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What are Killer Bees?
How are African "Killer" Bees different from "Regular" Bees?
The general appearance of Killer Bees (Africanized Bees) is the same as common Honey Bees, but there are some distinctive physical differences between the two. To analyze the differences, a laboratory has to measure and compare some 20 different structures. Another way to check is to analyze the specimen's DNA and enzymes.
Where did African "Killer" Bees Come From?
In 1956, some colonies of African Honey Bees were imported into Brazil, with the idea of cross-breeding them with local populations of Honey Bees to increase honey production. The following year, twenty-six African queens, along with swarms of European worker bees, escaped from an experimental apiary about l00 miles south of Sao Paulo.
These African bee escapees have since formed hybrid populations with European Honey Bees, both feral and from commercial hives. They have gradually spread northward through South America, Central America, and eastern Mexico, progressing some 100 to 200 miles per year. In 1990, Killer Bees reached southern Texas, they appeared in Arizona in 1993, found their way to California in 1995, and now they are established in Florida. They are expected to continue forming colonies in other parts of the southern United States.
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Africanized Honey Bees (Killer Bees) are dangerous because they attack intruders in numbers much greater than European Honey Bees. Since their introduction into Brazil, they have killed some 1,000 humans, with victims receiving ten times as many stings than from the European strain. They react to disturbances ten times faster than European Honey Bees, and will chase a person a quarter of a mile.
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