In the 1950’s,
scientists brought African Honeybees to Brazil where they were crossed with European Honeybees in hope of creating a hybrid bee with improved honey production. In 1956, 12 of these Africanized Honeybee (AHB) queens were
released into the wild. The hybrid AHB spread north across
Latin America. By 1990, the first AHB colonies invaded the
USA, in deep south Texas. Today California, Arizona, New Mexico,
Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida
have all reported growing numbers of AHB colonies. Recently, Virginia reported an AHB colony.
The AHB carries few distinctive characteristics from the European
honeybee commonly found in the United States. Both subspecies
are roughly 5/8 of an inch long, brownish and slightly fuzzy.
Any physical differences between the two are detectable only
by microscope. Both protect their nests from predators by
stinging. Like European honeybees, the AHB stings once and
then dies.
The most significant difference between the two species is that
the AHB is much more aggressive in the protection of its hive.
Bees attack because of unwanted contact and become extremely
defensive when confronted with vibrations and movement. In
addition, attacks occur when humans wearing
dark clothing accidentally wandered into a hot zone near a beehive.
A devastating trait of attacking bees is that they are drawn
to carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas exhaled by all mammals. In severe bee attacks, the victims are typically found with
their nostrils, ears, and mouth full of bee stings. This attack
technique makes escape even more difficult. Furthermore, AHB’s
are known to hover over water in which a victim has taken
refuge.
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