This is my Killer Bees Research Project 22-23
Frida Ortiz
Mr. Skipper
Encounters 8
March 5, 2023
Killer Bees - More Than Just an SNL Skit
Introduction
The Africanized honey bees might seem like regular innocent honey bees but they are quite the opposite. Africanized Honey bees also called killer bees are known to be an invasive species. Killer bees have managed to travel from their native continent Africa to North and South America. Africanized bees were also transported from Brazil in order to help but they did quite the opposite. These species of bees have caused plenty of problems such as causing harm to the environment and attacking other animals. African honey bees are mostly known for being so aggressive compared to European honey bees. Killer bees got their name “killer” due to their violent behavior. Over the years this invasive species has caused severe difficulties to the natural world. Africanized honey bees have caused has been causing countless issues and they need to be under control before they cause any more harm.
Taxonomy and description
Most bees look similar. Despite being colorful, Africanized Honey Bees are harmful to our environment. The Africanized honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata, is an invasive species originally from Africa. The killer bees have invaded all the way from South America to North America. When killer bees started to move into South America Africanized honey bees were aggressive compared to other honey bees. Although killer bees look almost identical to regular honey bees there are some ways to distinguish them. African bees are smaller in size and their wings are also smaller. Another way to tell these bees apart is by their “ colony-level reproduction” (Africanized Honey Bee). A fourth way to distinguish killer bees is by where they put their nest. The biggest difference between these bees is the way they protect their nests. The Africanized bees can kill large animals because they can attack in groups. Killer bees get really aggressive and they only focus on defending their nest. African bees attack any intruder. Killer bees “usually require lower stimuli to initiate an attack” (Africanized Honey Bee). This helps the bees be able to attack larger animals. “Morphometry” is also another way to distinguish killer bees from honey bees. Morphometry is the study of the shape variation of organs and organisms. Morphometry has been used to differentiate honey bee races since the 1960s.” This method gave scientists a better genetic analysis (Africanized Honey Bees).
Introduction to Non-Native Habitat
Although the African Killer bees are native to Africa they have managed to invade many other places. The African killer bees have managed to spread and invade far. These killer bees have managed to travel and invade the Americas. In the beginning, only the European honey bees stayed in America, but because of the “poor performance” of these bees, a Brazilian scientist traveled to South America to get Africanized honey bees to help (Africanized Honey Bees). The Brazilian scientist, Dr. Kerr conducted a selective breeding experiment to support the European bees. Dr. Kerr placed the Africanized honey bees in Brazil hoping they would help the European honey bees breed. This took a turn because the Brazilian beekeepers couldn't handle the bees. Due to this, the Africanized bees started to escape and spread throughout Brazil and other parts of South America. Once the Africanized bees started to spread they began to replace the European honey bees. This was alarming because the Africanized honey bees were way more aggressive than the European bees. These bees began stinging many animals and a lot of people. “Africanized bees were highly unpredictable and dangerous defensive” (Honey Bees In New Mexico). Although the killer bees were only traveling through South America “by the end of that year, eight Texas counties were confirmed infested” (Honey Bees In New Mexico). The first U.S. states that began to get infected by African bees were New Mexico and Arizona. After a few years went by these killer bees began spreading in other states such as “southern California, Arizona, southern Nevada, southern Utah, most of Texas, more than half of Oklahoma, western Arkansas, and northwestern Louisiana” (Honey Bees In New Mexico). Killer bees started to spread because of the warm weather. As soon as they started reaching North started slowing down. These bees began spreading slower in the U.S. than in South America but they were just as effective (Africanized Honey Bees).
Adverse Effects
As soon as the bees started to invade they began causing harm. Killer bees have caused ecological, environmental, and economic effects. For example, killer bees have caused ecological damage just by invading North and South America. Killer bees also cause harm due to their defensive behavior. Due to killer bees' defensive behavior, they can attack many animals. Most attacks happen when they feel that their “nest or territory is threatened by an intruder” (Africanized Honey Bees In The U.S.). Unlike honey bees, killer bees tend to attack in groups. Some killer bees even attack the “same intruder with hundreds of bees” (Africanized Honey Bee). Africanized bees have also had a history of attacking humans as much as they attack animals. Killer bees do not tolerate intruders near their nest, whether humans or animals. African honey bees have “killed some 1,000 humans, with victims receiving ten times as many stings as from the European strain” (Africanized Bees). Killer bees will attack (Honey Bees In New Mexico). Killer bees have also caused economic effects. Killer bees cause resources for honey bees to decrease. Honey beekeepers have noticed that the resources have decreased due to the “density of African bee colonies in an area” (Africanized Honey Bee). Killer bees also cause economic impact by forcing keepers to not continue with the honey industry due to their aggressiveness. Killer bees have cost the honey industry “with an annual value of 140 million dollars” (Africanized Bees). Africanized honey bees also have a big economic impact in California. Not only have killer bees affected California's “public and safety” but they have also impacted their “ emergency services, parks and recreation, and … potential loss of bees for pollination” (Africanized Bees). African honey bees as well have a negative influence on the environment. For example, these killer bee colonies' “ densities in an area can be very high.” This causes a significant impact on the “native flora and fauna in an area”(Africanized Honey Bee). This problem not only affects the grassland it also affects many plants that animals feed on (Africanized Honey Bee).
Conclusion: Study, Control, and Eradication
Although killer bees have started to take over areas in South and North America people have started to take control. Even if killer bees earned their name for their aggressiveness people are starting to study them more to be able to manage them. Beekeepers have discovered two methods to control killer bees. One method beekeepers are using is slowing down African honeybees from mating. This method is called “drone flooding.” This method helps reduce killer bees by “placing a large number … of European honeybees in areas where commercially-reared queen bees mate” (Africanized Bees). The second method is “requeening frequently.” This method assures “ the queens are European Honey Bees and that mating has also occurred with European drones” (Africanized Bees). This helps with “most likely to maintain gently managed bee colonies”(Africanized Honey Bees In The U.S). There have also already been many studies conducted to understand killer bees. According to “Clemson Extension Education” scientists have been studying killer bees in “Argentina, Venezuela, French Guiana, Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S” (Africanized Honey Bees In The U.S). Africanized honey bees have proven to be unpredictable and problematic. Killer bees have caused plenty of problems but slowly they are being controlled. Many countries alerting their people about these bees help bring more awareness. There has been plenty of research done but there can always be more improvement. More improvement for a better understanding and safety of killer bees.
Works Cited
“Africanized Bees.” Smithsonian, www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/killbee.
“Africanized Honeybee.” County Of Santa Clara, ag.sccgov.org/africanized-honeybee.
“Africanized Honey Bee.” Featured Creatures, entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees.
“Africanized Honey Bees In The U.S.” Clemson Extension Education, www.clemson.edu/extension/beekeepers/fact-sheets-publications/africanized-honey-bee-usa.html.
“Honey Bees In New Mexico.” New Mexico State University, pubs.nmsu.edu/l/L110/.
“Killer Bees: a deadly swarm.” Natural History Museum, https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discovrer/killer-bees-a-deadly-swarm.html.