Africanized Honey Bees in Arizona
What Tucson, Arizona residents need to know

The Africanized Honey Bee is here to stay according to Bee experts. As the regular honey bee (European Bee) and the Africanized bees interbreed, the Africanized strain appears to dominate. Honey bees are about 5/8" long, brown and hairy with a black stripe encircling their abdomen. Africanized honey bees look the same. Only an expert can tell them apart. The sting from the Africanized honey bee is no more harmful than that of the European honey bee. These Africanized honey bees are more easily agitated than the common garden honey bee, and although they only sting defensively, they will defend their colonies with less provocation and much more aggression than other bees. When they attack, they attack en masse.

Most people are aware of the main product of a bee hive – honey. However, honey production isn’t the only use for these bees. One-third of our diet comes from crops pollinated by honey bees. Many plants can’t produce fruits, vegetables, and seeds without bee pollination. Destroying the bee population would destroy us all, so we must learn how to get along with this new strain of bee.

Killer bees (African Bees) were introduced to honey bee colonies in Brazil in 1956 with the idea of cross-breeding to increase bee production. In 1957, twenty-six African queens, along with swarms of European worker bees escaped from the experimental apiary. They have since formed hybrid populations spreading their terror throughout South America, Central America and Mexico, progressing about 100-200 miles per year. They reached southern Texas in 1990, Arizona in 1993, Florida in 1994, New Mexico and California in 1995. They are expected to spread to colonies all over the southern United States.

Photo: bumble bee of the genus Bombus.

How the Africanized Honey Bee Differs from European Honey Bees
The Africanized honey bees are extremely protective of their hive and their brood. They are less selective of where they put their hives than the European honey bee and will use much smaller places. They can nest in water meter boxes, metal utility poles, cement blocks, junk piles, house eaves, overturned flower pots or even an empty soda can. Their definition of “home turf” is much larger than that of the European honey bee. You will want to stay at least 100 feet away from one of these hives, and there is no way to tell whether or not a hive has “Africanized”, so stay that far away from all hives. The best advice is if you see a hive, move away immediately.

Swarms are groups of bees that are in the process of leaving their parent colony and staring their own colony in a new location. European hives will typically swarm once every 12 months; the Africanized hive may swarm as often as once every six weeks and can separate into more than one swarm each time. This is important information because more swarms mean more threat to us.

How to Avoid Bee Stings
First and foremost, stay away from bee colonies. It is estimated that in Arizona there are about 250,000 wild bee colonies. They nest in a wide variety of locations, so be alert for groups of flying bees entering or leaving an opening. Listen for buzzing sounds. Be especially alert when climbing because bees will often nest under rocks or within crevices.

If you find a colony, don’t try to destroy it by yourself or with your friends. Don’t try breaking it or throwing rocks at it or burning it. If it is in an area frequented by people or livestock, notify authorities immediately.

Wear appropriate clothing when hiking, this means light colored clothing. Avoid leather. Bees target their natural predators (bears, skunks), so they tend to go after dark objects. Keep in mind that bees see the color red as if it were black. So, if you’re out hunting wear fluorescent orange. Avoid scents of any sort, especially if it makes you smell like a skunk, but bees also like the sweet flowery scent of shampoos and perfumes. Bees communicate using scents. If riding, leave the lemony or citrus flavored products off your horse.

Be particularly careful when using machinery. Bees are alarmed by the vibrations and loud noises of lawn mowers, tractors, etc.

Keep your dog on a leash or under close control when hiking so they don’t inadvertently disturb a beehive. Make sure dog houses aren’t located near bee hives.

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