Welcome back to day two of “Animals that can Kill” on Wild Facts. We talked about the deadly sting of the bark scorpion yesterday. Today we will take a look at another sting that you will want to avoid. I am of course talking about the sting from an Africanized Bee better known as the Killer Bee. Now isn’t that a nice reassuring name. It sounds bad but are they really that deadly? We will find out soon enough.
The “Killer Bee” is actually a hybrid of the African Honey Bee and various European Honey Bees. This hybrid is much more aggressive and will actually take over the hive of European honey bees by killing the European queen and establishing their own. I guess this proves the old theory wrong that only humans cause war.
Originally these killer bees could only be found in Africa, however, they have managed to find their way over to the Americas. They can now be found throughout South America, Mexico and some Southern US states such as Texas, Arizona, Florida and California. So how poisonous are these hybrid bees? To tell you the truth the potency of their sting is the same as the European honey bee. So why are they so deadly? Why have cheap B-rated movies been made about these bees? Is it all an exaggeration? These are all excellent questions and to answer them we have to learn about the killer bees behaviour.
The africanized bee has what is called “hyper-defensive behaviour”. Basically, they will attack a perceived threat on their hive at the drop of a hat. If you look the wrong way at a killer bee hive then they will attack. The problem is when they attack they come at you in great numbers. The number of deaths to humans are increased because of the greater number of stings that occur when you startle a hive as well as the fact that killer bees tend to sting more readily. As you can imagine the media has caused a lot of hype over the killer bees but the fact remains that they can be deadly and 1-2 Americans are reported to die each year from killer bee stings. Whether or not these people are allergic is unknown. The hype may not be completely justified but I wouldn’t go trying to pet these hybrid bees anytime soon.
Killer Bee Fast Fact: Not all killer bee hives are are defensive and aggressive as described above. For this reason beekeepers have been able to create a strain of gentler killer bees. Apparently these “domesticated” killer bees are the bee of choice in South America.
I have attached an interesting 3 minute clip on the killer bees below but it may not be suitable for the really young ones. As well, it may instill fear into people regarding these bees. Enjoy!
Wow that was quite graphic to watch first thing in the morning while eating breakfast (ugh). I can see how it would scare people but it also makes you wonder why this guy was still shooting the film while the other one was being attacked.
I think we’ll stick to our good ole’ bumble bee (the ones we can pet). Bring back memories.
I am pretty sure the video was just a re-enactment of the event. It is pretty scary but it is important to know what is out there and to be prepared for nature.
I do prefer the bumblebees that we can pet!
I live in Los Angeles, and these guys sound like the gangs that terrorize some neighborhoods around here. So we get gangs AND killer bees.
hahaha
With any luck the bees and gangs will take each other out!
Scary!
It sounds like humans bred this Frankenstein bee. Did we? If so, do you know why?
Thanks! I’m scared to read tomorrow’s venomous wild fact!
Hey Céline,
Naturally humans interfered with mother nature to create this wonderful insect. Killer Bees were created in Brazil way back in 1956. The plan was to create a super bee that was better suited for the tropical forests of South America and produced more honey. At the time, honey was a very big market and produced a lot cash flow for Brazil. It is funny how greed is at the bottom of everything. In order to accomplish this feat a geneticist brought over a few African Bees so he could breed them with the normal European bees. The breeding was successful and the “Killer Bees” did produce more honey. The problem arose when some of these hybrid bees escaped. At the time, they figured it was no big deal but then these little guys migrated and multiplied rapidly. Just one more example why humans shouldn’t interfere with nature.
Tomorrow’s fact won’t be scary! In fact it will be a nice way to end a fearful week.
Hey!
As a professional beekeeper I can tell You that it is looks scary, but it is normal type of behavior. Bees are not typical for American continent and were exported from Europe. For commercial use were chosen quiet italian bees. They were been selected for a long time.
And this is a different story. We are dealing with really wild creatures. I worked in north part of Russia with local bees. They
are the same extremely agressive. It also very much depends on season, time and weather. If You are attacked – run away as fast as possible. In my practice I was stung
100-150 times in one shot. Temperature goes up, you feel rash. I use alcohol (whisky, vodka) 100-150gs per oral. It helps me. May be because I am Russian. But in case of allergy it can turn to tragedy.
Hi Alexy,
Wow! Thanks for sharing this incredible information about bees. It is great to actually have a professional beekeeper on here talking about them.
I had no idea that the season, time and weather were factors in the aggressive nature of the bees. That is absolutely fascinating. Do they prefer warmer weather?
I couldn’t imagine being stung 100-150 times in one shot. That must have been painful and scary. Although, I am sure the vodka eased the nerves 🙂
Thanks again for sharing such an awesome story. You definitely added some interesting insight to the Killer Bee post.