Africanized Honey Bees

Unknown artist’s
Scary vision of AfHB

Do we need to be concerned!

Dewey M. Caron
Out of East Africa Origin
Swarming into wild in Brazil

Native (Masai) harvest of rustic colony

In tree – nightime w/ smoke & fire
Beekeeper contemplating AHB swarm capture

Changing American Beekeepers

& Beekeeping

Beekeeper inspection of AHB colony in Panama

Note: using jumbo smoker
 Africanized bee spread in Americas
following introduction into Brazil (1957)
Isolated introductions X by truck/rail/beekeeper - eliminated
X Maine blueberry pollination
sampling shows increase of AHB
X X X
X
X 2005
X OK X X AR
Numerous importations
X AL into Eastern ports - eliminated
X LA X
2005 Fl considered colonized

Pacific coast
of Peru/Ecuador
due to beekeeper
colony movement
 Why is Africanized Bee (AHB)
sometimes called “killer bee”?
“Killer” Bee is a media (TIME) term –
Bee is highly defensive and stinging incidents
Increase when it colonizes an area
(newspaper account AZ & southern CA stinging increase)

Animal stinging “accidents” often preceed those with humans

ee www.stingshield.com/ahb-index.htm for compilation of media storie
 What is an Africanized Bee (AHB)?
A Honey Bee Population
w/ slight biological changes

AHB

AHB prefer smaller nest cavities

& build exposed nests more often
Than temperate (European) bees
Workers ‘running’ off comb
AHB differences from EHB – swarm a lot, are frequently defensive,
run on combs, rear workers in 19 days, queens in 15 ½ days, are
slightly smaller bodied, early risers and not great dancers, - slight
variations in biology familiar in European (temperate) bees (EHB).
The Africanized bee is a Pollinator
papaya
Melon pollination in
Costa Rica

But it is a more difficult bee to manage

in planned pollination due to higher
swarming /absconding/defensiveness
The AHB is a better honey producer in
tropical climates (compared to EHB)
Tropical Honey Production

Higher elevation (less tropical)

conditions in Bolivia
BUT Honey is a valuable medicine
in 3rd world rather than food

Honey for sale

In a Guatamalan
Market

Note: you buy bottle

or piece of comb
In wax paper
 The AHB is NOT a hybrid!
It is essentially pure African but not easy to
ID in early stages of colonization

Shown is Tom Rinderer, USDA making morphometric measures of wings –

mt DNA is a more reliable (but costly) method to determine AHB or EHB
 Tropical vs Temperate honey bees
Temperate EHB in tropics

● store more honey for winter

● nest in well-insulated cavities
● rear lg worker populations
● only 1-3 swarms/year
● rarely abandon nest

Selection factor – winter -- so raise more workers

and store more honey to survive, swarming/
abandoning the nest less
 Tropical vs Temperate honey bees
Tropical AHB in tropics
● smaller nests
● collect more pollen – less honey
● higher reproduction (swarming)
● abandon nests more
● more defensive

Selective factor – predation

-- so more quickly raise
brood and reproduce. Defend
more rapidly but also abandon
nest to reestablish elsewhere
 Challenges w/ AHB
It can be unpredictable!
It can sting a lot –
humans & animals have died

Exploding from colony as it is opened

 Challenges w/ AHB
Need new locations

Need to plan for defensiveness

Must now isolate or conceal colonies w/ vegetative corral
and move them away from people & animals
 Challenges w/ AHB
Need to modify management

They raise lots They run off combs

of brood – store when inspected
less honey
+ Keeping them home – must control
swarming & absconding
 The major challenge
Raising manageable stock

Queen finding & Where AHB colonize:

rearing is very
difficult with AHB Not possible
to keep AHB &
IN U.S. EHB in same
Do we have a apiary
better chance (EHB not competitive)
of keeping gentle
European stock?
So where has it colonized in US?

XXX

Source: ars.usda.gov/AHBmap
 Not here ....YET!!!

It is a tropical/sub-tropical bee, not a desirable bee for temperate conditions…

We do NOT know its eventual distribution within U.S.
 What needs to be done?
Inform beekeepers, 1st responders, public
Establish press relations (it will “hit” the press)
Survey for its presence
Revise bee laws
Requeen colony if
defensive
Keep on
beekeeping

Beekeepers are part of “solution” – not part of “problem”

 So in summary....

AHB Honey Bee population has changed

the face of American beekeeping
It is an excellent tropical/semi-tropical bee
WHERE there is NO alternative!

Pre-AHB apiary

Where they have colonized they are superior competitors –

you can’t successfully keep European bees side-by-side
GOOD NEWS!! In South American
higher elevations AHB is more
manageable!

Bolivian
apiary at
8500 ft

They CAN adapt to severe winters...but do better in the south!

 AND they are now a ready
resource for rural campesinos

A trapped
AHB swarm/
abscond

- can be
transferred
to a hive or
honey
harvested
from wild
USDA photo
So.... Will where will they be a
factor in US Beekeeping???

Primarily they are a

TROPICAL/SEMI-TROPICAL
ADAPTED BEE
So the answer is....

YET