What Should I Know About The Africanized Honey Bee?
Thursday, November 10th, 2011If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
We have probably all heard references about Africanized Honey Bees, better known as “Killer Bees”. They have a name that may sound terrifying. However, the sting of the Africanized Honey Bee is normally no more dangerous than that of a garden variety honey bee. Their venom is no more powerful than a honey bee but because they typically sting their victims in greater numbers, more deaths can be attributed to them. However, an estimate of the total number of deaths is difficult to compute because severe allergic reactions to bee venom from any type of bee can cause death.
There are several differences between the Africanized Honey Bee and its native cousins. Some of those include the following:
• They have a higher proportion of “guard” bees within their hives. Because of this, they guard their hives aggressively.
• They have a larger alarm radius around their hives.
• They have greater defensiveness when in a resting swarm.
• They deploy in greater numbers when defending their hives.
• They pursue perceived threats over much longer distances from the hive.
• They are more likely to leave their hive and relocate in response to stress.
Africanized Honey Bees have a very close physical resemblance to other less aggressive honey bees. Because it is difficult to tell the difference you should not attempt to treat hives without proper training. If you live in the greater Los Angeles area and think you might be dealing with Africanized Honey Bees, you should contact a pest management professional as soon as possible. The staff at Accuracy Plus has the proper knowledge, experience and equipment to deal with this situation. We invite you to contact us at (888) 675-0258 for a free inspection.

























