For Release April 16, 2006

Africanized Honeybees - What's the Risk?

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

Recent news releases have again called the public's attention to the Africanized Honeybee. There is a lot of concern about the "killer" bees and a lot of misinformation out and about, as well as on the Internet. So as we move into another season when we will all be seeing bees, let's set the facts straight right now! Are Africanized honeybees a risk to people? Yes, especially if you are allergic to bee stings. Are we at risk here in Kansas to encountering Africanized honeybees? Yes, but at a reduced risk.

Africanized honeybees resulted from a 1950s researcher in Brazil making crosses between the standard European honeybee and the much more aggressive African bees. The resulting hybrids inadvertently escaped. The hybrid bees were very aggressive and started moving out from the epicenter of this accidental release. Keep in mind that these bees still do everything that standard honeybees do. They pollinate crops and they gather nectar. But they do it far better than their non hybrid European relatives. They will work in rainier conditions and colder conditions. They will pollinate far more plans and gather more nectar (honey) then their European cousins. They have quite a few advantages.

Unfortunately, this aggressive nature carries on over to defending their colony. They look just like a standard honeybee. It takes trained individuals with microscopes to tell the difference. But an accidental run-in with a swarm of Africanized honeybees can result in several hundred bees coming after you instead of a couple of dozen. Their stings and venom are no more potent than a standard honeybee, it's just that instead of a couple of stings from this run in, you may have a hundred or more.

Africanized honeybees entered the United States in 1990 at the tip of Texas. They are now pretty well distributed throughout Texas and the desert southwest. In 2004 and 2005 colonies were being found in Oklahoma, within 60 miles of the Kansas border as of last summer. Given the tendency for Africanized honeybees to swarm much more often than European honeybees, they can move 100 miles or more in one summer. So there is a very good chance that a swarm will make it to Kansas in 2006 and be found.

Now for the good news. It appears that Africanized honeybee colonies can not over winter any further north than about central Oklahoma. They simply don't have the clustering tendency of European honeybees which gives them the ability to survive the winters. Any colonies of Africanized honeybees that make it into Kansas, should die in a normal Kansas winter. But we could still have to deal with them this summer or in some future summer.

Bees are important pollinators, so don't start trying to destroy every bee you see. But do be on the lookout for a swarm of honeybees that seems to be very aggressive or creating a hive in a very unusual place. If you disturb a swarm of bees and find yourself being swarmed upon by hundreds of honeybees, don't swat, don't jump in the lake, don't try to hide in the bushes, but RUN and get indoors as soon as possible. Scrape stingers out with a thumbnail, do not grab them with tweezers. That just shoves more venom into you. If you start feeling sick or have trouble breathing, call 911 or get yourself to a hospital. There's a chance we'll see these rascals in Kansas this year. There's a much slimmer chance that we'll see them this far north. Don't panic, but "bee" alert and report any unusual bee activity to the Kansas Department of Agriculture at (785) 862-2180 or to our office.

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