Spring is here and bee activity is on the rise. Surprisingly, we still get a few comments and questions about “killer bees” (the term stemming from the media a few years back referring to Africanized bees) from our clients and followers. This term was coined before the #savethebees movement caught the traction it has today - which has really curbed the fear factor when it comes to our cute little honeybees. With that being said, we don’t like using the term killer bees as it creates a false narrative of these beautiful creatures - they do not exist to kill. And we feel even though we are doing our part in advocating for our honeybees by rescuing and relocating them in our urban environment as well as trying to change the public’s opinion about bees, we also want to educate our audience on the potential dangers of coming across an Africanized hive when you’re ill-equipped and inexperienced. So we decided to jump-start our blog by discussing the history of Africanized bees, along with some safety protocols you should take if you ever come across an aggressive hive.
What Are Africanized Bees?
Did you know that honeybees are not native to the Americas? To first answer the question of what Africanized bees are, we need to look at how honeybees even got to the American continent.
European honeybees, which are mild in temperament, were introduced in the 17th century on the East Coast of North America for honey and pollen production with the arrival of European settlers evading war and poverty. Beekeepers love working with European honeybees because they are relatively friendly (when handled properly) and easy to work with. A lot of the time we can work with European bees without our suits and gloves on - though we do not recommend anyone else doing that unless you have a lot of experience with bees!
Now, fast forward a few hundred years and a biologist by the name of Warwick Kerr introduced the first African honeybee colony to Brazil in 1956. Warwick interbred honeybees from Europe and southern Africa in an attempt to create a strain of bees that would be more productive by producing more honey and that could better adapt to tropical conditions.
Through his observations, Warwick noted that this strain of bee were noticeably more defensive (aggressive) compared to the European honeybee. Some other characteristics of an Africanized hive that differ from European hives is their ability to guard their hive with a larger alarm zone around the hive, having a larger amount of guard bees and sending out more bees to defend and pursue threats up to a quarter of a mile away! That’s pretty impressive!
It is to be noted that Warwick studied and bred these honeybees under quarantine, but through an accident of trying to relocate some hives within the space, they escaped the quarantine they were housed in and have been spreading through South and North America, which is why we have them today in our lovely city of San Diego.
Here in San Diego we have a mixture of mostly Africanized and very few European hives as they’ve interbred throughout the years. And because of that, whenever we come across a hive, we always have to assume they are going to be aggressive until proven otherwise.
Interestingly enough, Jeff has been doing live bee removals and relocation for the last 15 years and he can confirm that even 10 years ago we had a lot more hyper-aggressive hives than we have today. We do still have plenty of aggressive hives! We truly believe the decrease in hyper-aggressive hives is due to our efforts in rescuing and relocating honeybees, along with our local beekeepers re-queening Africanized queens with European queens, which helps curb the temperament of the hive.
What Should You Do If You Come Across An Africanized Hive?
Let’s say you come across an Africanized hive and accidentally disturb them. We created a list of what-to-do in a situation like that so that you can get to safety:
If you notice bees bumping into you, that’s a warning. Walk away calmly and swiftly with your head down. Do not flail as that attracts them.
If bees are stinging you, run away and seek shelter - moving slowly will no longer help when the bees are in full attack mode. Bees in attack mode are attracted to the dark spots on your face (eyes, nose mouth), though when really riled up they’ll sting anything on your body - keep your head down while running. Get into a car or house and shut the door. If you cannot find shelter, run as far away from the hive as possible. If you have a jacket, place it over your head while running. Try to stay calm and keep your composure. Panicking is an obvious reaction but could get you into more trouble.
Others may likely be in danger if they’re in close proximity. If you can warn people from a safe area (inside a car), stick around until help arrives.
Call a professional live bee removal company; they most likely have experience with aggressive bees and are equipped to deal with most situations.
Unfortunately, we get quite a few calls per season about hyper-aggressive hives that have put people in danger or even their pets. Again, it is important to call us - or a local live bee removal specialist if you’re not in San Diego - once you notice a lot of bee activity on your property which leads to a suspicion of a hive residing there. We want to emphasize that sentiment especially if they show any signs of aggression. Take it from this recent incident of a local farmer who had a close call with Africanized Bees. Please note, that bees pollinating around your flowers and floral trees are doing just that… pollinating. They are not living there and most of the time they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them.
Disturbing an Africanized hive can be dangerous or even lethal, although it’s rare to get to that point as many of our clients seek out our services and try not to manage the hive themselves. We also want to advise that even if you own a bee suit, DO NOT DISTURB them as it could put yourself or others in danger around you. We have the experience and equipment to work with Africanized hives and we can safely remove and relocate them to locations far from people and their loved ones. Our goal is to save bees no matter their temperament! 🐝🧡
