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Honey Bees In The United States
Honey bees are not native to the Americas. During the
1600's, settlers brought honey bee colonies with them from
Europe, hence the name European honey bees (EHB). Today, honey
bees are commonly seen visiting flowers to gather nectar needed
to produce the sweet food product, honey, that is associated with
this insect. In the process of visiting blossoms, honey bees
pollinate cultivated crops valued at $30 billion annually.
Additionally, honey bees play an important role in pollinating
plants that are necessary for wildlife.
Bees have numerous predators, including humans, that take
the honey, pollen, and beeswax that the colony produces for its
survival. Consequently, honey bees have developed effective
colony defense strategies. If unprovoked, honey bees rarely use
their stingers; but if they do sting, they only do it once and
die soon afterwards.
Africanized Honey Bees
In 1956 researchers in Brazil attempted to develop a more
appropriate honey bee than the races that had been imported from
Europe. Honey bee queens from Africa, whose offspring were
presumably better suited for tropical Brazilian conditions, were
imported and established in test colonies in Rio Claro, Sao
Paulo, Brazil. In 1957 some African bee swarms escaped into the
Brazilian countryside where their queens hybridized with the more
docile resident European honey bees. African honey bee queens
were also given to beekeepers at that time.
The offspring of these bees defended their nests more
vigorously, swarmed more often, and were generally better suited
for survival in the tropics than European honey bees.
Researchers named this African - European hybrid the Africanized
honey bee (AHB). However, as a result of widely publicized
stinging incidents, the movie industry and media used the name
"Killer Bee" to describe the Africanized honey bee, thus giving
the public serious misconceptions about this type of honey bee.
Occasional swarms on ships coming from South and Central
America are a concern but are not major threats to the public or
to the beekeeping industry. The first Africanized honey bee
colony found in the United States (as a result of natural range
expansion) was reported on October 15, 1990, at Hildago, Texas,
very near the Mexican border. Other AHB swarms have been found
since then, but all known AHB swarms have been destroyed.
Defensive Behavior Of Africanized Honey Bees
Unlike the docile European honey bees common in the United
States, the Africanized honey bee defends its hive more quickly
and will pursue intruders greater distances. Most serious
stinging incidents have involved animals; but, on rare occasions,
humans have also been stung. Stinging occurs after a human or
animal has intruded the territory of the honey bee colony. In
some cases, vibrations from machinery have provoked stinging
incidents. Chance encounters with individual AHB's on blossoms
pose no greater threat than an encounter with European honey
bees.
Even though mass stinging is terrifying and could be life
threatening, it is rare. Also, the venom from one AHB sting is
no more potent than the venom of a single EHB sting. Common
sense is the best defense for avoiding stings from all stinging
insects -not just honey bees. If you are being stung or you are
in the vicinity of large numbers of insects you think might
sting, calmly but quickly move away from the area.
Other Africanized Honey Bee Traits
In spite of its "big" reputation, the AHB is actually
smaller than the European honey bee. However, the difference is
not obvious. For identification, special techniques must be
used. Beekeepers in areas recently Africanized commonly complain
that honey yields have dropped precipitously. However, after
developing different management schemes over several years, honey
yields in Africanized areas have recovered somewhat.
The AHB produces swarms more often than the European honey
bee currently found in the United States. This is due in part to
their shorter development time and the propensity to use
resources to rear more bees, rather than to store their resources
for periods of shortage. Consequently, Africanized honey bees
sometimes gain a population advantage over European honey bees.
Africanized honey bees frequently construct nests in exposed
areas that would rarely be selected by EHB. However, the higher
frequency of exposed nests could be because the preferred sites
are occupied. Since these bees are well suited for life in warm
climates, there is reason to believe that the warmer states will
have to contend with feral Africanized honey bee establishment
first. However, due to potential encounters with EHB in great
numbers, the AHB could become further hybridized. In the future
even honey bees in northern states may show some Africanized
honey bee traits.
Both European honey bees and Africanized honey bees require
pollen collected from plants as a protein source. The
Africanized honey bee's unique manageability characteristics
concern many U.S. beekeepers who move thousands of colonies each
season for crop pollination and honey production.
If Africanization Is Suspected
If Africanization is suspected, contact your county agent,
state apiarist, state beekeeping extension specialist, or the
local bee inspector for help. Determining whether or not
Africanization has occurred is a difficult procedure that will
require technical assistance. The county extension office will
usually have the address and telephone numbers for authorities
who can help.
Collecting Honey Bee Samples for Identification: Dead bee
samples can be collected and preserved in several ways. A small
jar or plastic container with a 70 percent alcohol solution is
appropriate for preserving bees for morphometric identification.
Ethanol is best, but isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or methanol can
also be used. Collect 50 to 100 adult worker bees. Another way
to collect a similar sample requires collecting live bees in a
sealable plastic bag and immediately putting the bag in a
freezer. Live bee collection should be performed by an
appropriately trained individual.
All samples should be submitted to the appropriate State
Apiary Inspector or State Extension Apiculturist for routing to
the proper authorities for identification. The county agent will
be able to help in contacting them.
Disposing of Africanized honey bee swarms and feral
colonies: The increase in the number of swarms that normally
accompanies the Africanization of an area and the greater public
awareness of all honey bees means there will be more requests for
assistance to dispose of unwanted colonies. This activity
requires properly trained and equipped response teams. Untrained,
unprotected individuals are at high risk of being severely stung.
Again, state beekeeping authorities should be contacted for
assistance in destroying suspected Africanized honey bee
colonies.
Understanding The Africanized Honey Bee
Scientists have studied the Africanized honey bee in other
countries for many years. These projects conducted in Argentina,
Venezuela, French Guiana, Brazil, and other South and Central
American countries during the past twenty years have yielded much
information about AHB behavior and biology. Cooperative programs
between the United States and Mexico have also been helpful in
understanding the Africanized honey bee's swarming behavior and
rate of spread. Though much has been learned about the
Africanized honey bee, more research is needed.
Articles about deaths associated with the Africanized honey
bee have been published, but the actual number of deaths has been
very small. Statistically, everyday risks, such as auto
accidents, pose a much greater risk to the public.
The public should stay informed about issues concerning
Africanized honey bees, but not be unduly alarmed. Any future
Africanized honey bee problems are not without solutions.
This factsheet was prepared by Dr. James E. Tew, National Program Leader, Apiculture, Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and The Ohio State University at Wooster, Ohio and Dr. Anita M. Collins, Research Leader, Honey Bee Research Laboratory, Agriculture Research Service, USDA, Weslaco, Texas in cooperation with the USDA Interagency Technical Working Group on the Africanized Honey Bee.