Honey Bee Info
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Bees have 5 eyes Bees fly about 20 mph Bees are insects, so they have 6 legs Male bees in the hive are called drones Female bees in the hive (except the queen) are called worker bees Losing its stinger will cause a bee to die Bees have been here around 30 million years! Bees carry pollen on their hind legs called a pollen basket or corbicula An average beehive can hold around 50,000 bees Foragers must collect nectar from about 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey. The average forager makes about 1/12 th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. Average per capita honey consumption in the US is 1.3 pounds. Bees have 2 pairs of wings. The principal form of communication among honey bees is through chemicals called Pheromones. Bees are important because they pollinate approximately 130 agricultural crops in the US including fruit, fiber, nut, and vegetable crops. Bee pollination adds approximately 14 billion dollars annually to improved crop yield and quality.
In 1956, researchers imported honeybees from Africa into Brazil in an effort to improve beekeeping in the New World tropics. These African bees were well suited to conditions in Brazil, and they began colonizing South America, hybridizing with European honey bees (hence the name "Africanized" honey bees) and
	displacing European bees. Compared to European bees, Africanized honey bees are much more defensive. Large numbers of them sometimes sting people and livestock with little provocation. They are also occasionally known to take over European colonies by entering them and killing the resident queen. Because of these noxious behaviors, many beekeepers abandoned beekeeping, and the media widely publicized these so-called "killer bees."
The bees spread northward at a rate of about 200 to 300 miles per year, and today every country in Latin America except Chile has established populations of Africanized honey bees. In October 1990, the first natural colony of Africanized honeybees was found in the United States near Hidalgo, Texas. In subsequent years the bees moved in a westerly manner, eventually occupying much of the American Southwest and the southern counties of Nevada and California. By the summer of 2005, Africanized bees were confirmed east of the Mississippi with established populations in Florida.
In spite of the alarm surrounding Africanization, these bees have not caused widespread and permanent chaos. Dramatic stinging incidents do occur, but the quality of life for most people is unaffected. Typically, the commercial beekeeping industries of Africanized areas suffer temporary decline then eventually recover.
Differences Between Africanized and European Bees
European honey bees are adapted to winter survival, largely because of their ability to collect large honey supplies. Africanized bees, on the other hand, do not overwinter well and respond to food shortages by migrating. European bees make large, permanent colonies whereas Africanized bees make small to large colonies that reproduce (swarm) often.
Potential Range of Africanized Bees in the United States States As Africanized bees expand into temperate areas, their tropical adaptations are less advantageous. Cold weather seems to limit both their defensiveness and overwintering capacity. Africanized bees are more defensive in warm tropical regions and less so in cooler zones. In South America the bees do not overwinter south of 34 degrees S latitude, which corresponds roughly to Atlanta, Georgia. (Please note, however, that Africanized bees are north of this latitude in the American West.)
In areas where their ranges overlap, African- and European-derived bees interbreed, causing "hybrid zones" where bees share African and European traits. In Argentina, Africanized bees dominate in the northern semitropical regions but European bees dominate in the southern temperate areas; the area in between (ca. 32-34 degrees latitude) is a hybrid zone where bees have varying degrees of African or European traits. A similar pattern may occur in the United States, with African traits dominating in southern regions.
Safety Precautions
If and when Africanized bees reach your area, don't panic. Just as you should look out for fire ants and poisonous snakes, however, stay alert for wild bee colonies when you are outdoors. Remember these points:
Never knowingly approach an occupied bee nest. During daylight hours bees can be seen flying to and from their entrance. Do not disturb a swarm of bees. Call a professional bee removal service, the fire department, or your county extension agent for help in removing it. Never climb a tree, kick a log or stump, or move trash until you first check if bees are flying in and out. Keep an escape route in mind. Never crawl into an enclosed place from which you cannot quickly exit. Operators of open-cab tractors are especially at risk from hidden in-ground colonies. Keeping a veil on hand is a good safety precaution.
If You Are Attacked
Run away or get indoors as fast as possible if you are attacked. Never stand in one spot and swat because this only aggravates bees further and increases the number of stings you may receive. Be aware that bees may follow you for hundreds of yards. Do not stop running to hide yourself under water or in leaves, brush or a crevice because bees are likely to find you and inflict numerous stings. The single most important thing is to get away from the colony!
After an Attack
When a bee stings, the stinger and poison sack remain in the skin of the victim, even after the bee flies away, and venom continues to be pumped into the skin. After you have safely escaped the bees, remove stingers from your skin by scraping or brushing them out. The venom of a single Africanized sting is no more toxic than a European bee (in fact, it's a little less so). The difference is a matter of dose. Instead of a dozen or so stings, victims of Africanized bees can sustain stings in the hundreds. Most people can tolerate 15-25 stings without requiring special medical treatment. Pain, redness and swelling are normal at a sting site and this does not constitute an allergic reaction. People with a history of systemic allergic reactions (fainting, trouble breathing), however, should always carry with them an emergency kit of injectable epinephrine, use it if they are stung, and then immediately see a physician. Anyone who receives more than 15-25 stings should seek medical supervision for possible delayed systemic complications.
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