Africanized Honey Bees (AHBs) are a hybrid of the European and African honey bee subspecies, accidentally released in Brazil in the 1950s. This hybrid population rapidly spread throughout the Americas due to its adaptability and frequent reproduction. Managing AHBs is an ongoing public safety concern because they exhibit a much higher level of defensive behavior than their European counterparts. This increased defensiveness requires specialized strategies for both personal safety and population-level control.
Recognizing Africanized Bee Characteristics
Identifying Africanized Honey Bees relies almost entirely on observing their behavior, as they are visually indistinguishable from European honey bees without laboratory measurement. The primary difference is the colony’s reaction to disturbance, characterized by a lower threshold for defense. AHBs react much faster to perceived threats and in greater numbers, sending out hundreds of bees where a European colony might send a few dozen.
The area a colony defends is significantly larger, with Africanized bees pursuing threats up to 400 yards away from the nest, compared to 20 yards for European bees. Once agitated, AHBs remain defensive for a longer period, sometimes for days, making them a sustained hazard. Their tendency to swarm and reproduce frequently allows them to rapidly colonize new areas. They often establish nests in smaller, more exposed locations, such as utility boxes or discarded tires, increasing the likelihood of human contact.
Individual Safety and Habitat Modification
Preventing Africanized bee nesting begins with modifying the physical environment around homes and properties. Homeowners should systematically seal any exterior voids or gaps larger than one-eighth of an inch, roughly the diameter of a pencil. Bees use these small openings to access protected cavities like wall voids, eaves, and attics to establish a colony. Use caulk or fine-mesh hardware cloth to seal openings on structures, utility boxes, and water meters, as these are common nesting sites.
Regular property inspection, especially during the peak swarming season from spring through summer, helps catch small colonies before they become established. Removing debris like overturned flower pots, old tires, or lumber piles eliminates potential sheltered nesting sites. Standing water sources should be monitored, as bees need water to regulate hive temperature, and containers like pet water bowls can attract them.
If an attack occurs, the most important action is to leave the area immediately and quickly. Running in a straight line away from the nest, rather than swatting at the bees, is the recommended response. Swatting only agitates the bees further and releases alarm pheromones that recruit more of the colony to sting. The goal is to find enclosed shelter, such as a vehicle or a building, as quickly as possible.
While running, cover your head and face with your hands or clothing to protect vulnerable areas like the eyes and airways. Do not seek shelter in water or thick brush, as the bees often wait for the victim to emerge or pursue them into the foliage. Even if a few bees enter the shelter, the majority of the attacking colony will remain outside, minimizing the total number of stings. Once safe, scrape stingers out horizontally rather than squeezing them, which can inject more venom.
Strategies for Population Control
Management of Africanized bee populations at a community level often involves methods used by professional pest control operators and beekeepers. When an established AHB colony is found in a high-traffic or residential area, extermination is often necessary to ensure public safety. This differs from the standard practice of relocating docile European honey bee colonies. After the bees are eliminated, the nest and all honeycomb must be removed from the cavity. Leaving the comb behind can attract other pests, lead to structural damage from melting honey, and draw new swarms to the same location.
Beekeepers employ a genetic mitigation strategy known as requeening to reduce the overall aggressiveness of local bee populations. This technique involves replacing an aggressive Africanized queen with a known European queen. Since the queen is the only reproductive female, her European genetics eventually dilute the African traits in the colony’s workforce over several generations. This practice is a continuous effort to maintain a population of gentler, less defensive colonies.
Community-wide trap nesting programs are used for monitoring and preemptive removal of swarms. These programs involve setting up small, artificial cavities in strategic locations to intercept swarms seeking a new home. By capturing these swarms before they establish a feral nest in an unpredictable location, professionals control the spread of Africanized genetics. This allows for the swift and safe elimination or requeening of the captured colonies under controlled conditions.