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Killer bees are an Africanized honey bee hybrid. This species is known to the world for its high aggressiveness, and the ability to inflict heavy bites on both animals and people, which are sometimes fatal. This type of Africanized bees is ready to attack anyone who dares to approach their hives.
Killer bees first appeared in Brazil after crossing European and American individuals. Initially, it was supposed to breed a honey-bearing hybrid that would collect several times more honey than ordinary bees. Unfortunately, things went in a completely different direction.
What are the types of killer bees?
In nature, there are a large number of insects that can be not only friendly, but also overly aggressive. There are species that attract people, others can repel, while there are those that pose a danger to all living things.
In addition to the Africanized killer bees, there are several more individuals that are no less dangerous.
Hornet or bee-tiger. This species lives in India, China and Asia. The individuals are very large, the length of the body reaches 5 cm, has an impressive jaw and a sting of 6 mm. As a rule, hornets attack for no particular reason. With the help of a sting, they easily pierce the skin. No one has been able to escape them on their own. During the attack, each individual can release poison several times, thereby bringing strong pain. Every year, 30-70 people die from hornet bites.
Gadfly – an insect that has common features with bees. They attack people and animals. The danger lies in the fact that the gadflies lay larvae on the skin, which, feeling warm, begin to penetrate under the skin. You can get rid of the larvae only with surgical intervention.
African bees
Africanized bees are the only representative of their kind, where the queen is given the main role. If the queen dies, then the swarm must immediately give birth to a new queen, otherwise the family of Africanized bees will begin to disintegrate. As a result of the fact that the incubation period for larvae takes much less time, this allows insects to multiply very quickly, occupying more and more new territories.
The history of the species
Today, the Africanized killer bee is one of the top 10 most dangerous insects in the world. The Africanized bee was first introduced to the world in 1956, when geneticist Warwick Esteban Kerr crossed a European honey bee with a wild African honey bee. Initially, the goal was to develop a new species of hardy bees, but as a result, the world saw an Africanized killer bee.
Scientists have noticed that wild bees have a high level of productivity and speed, as a result of which they produce much more nectar than domestic bee colonies. It was planned to conduct a successful selection with honey bees and breed a new kind of domesticated bees – Africanized.
Unfortunately, geneticists were not able to see in advance all the features of this idea. For the history of beekeeping, this was the saddest experience, since the bred Africanized bees crossed out all the positive aspects with their aggressiveness.
Appearance of the African killer bee
Africanized bees stand out from the rest of the insects in body size, while the sting is no different from the stings of domestic bees, to understand this, just look at the photo of the killer bee:
- the body is rounded, covered with small villi;
- muted color – yellow with black stripes;
- 2 pairs of wings: the anterior ones are larger in size than the hind ones;
- a proboscis used to collect nectar;
- segmented antennae.
It is also important to understand that the poison of Africanized individuals is quite toxic and dangerous to all living things. The Africanized killer bee inherited strength from African individuals, as a result of which it has the following features:
- high level of viability;
- increased aggressiveness;
- resistance to any weather conditions;
- the ability to collect several times more honey than domestic bee colonies can do.
Since Africanized bees have a shorter incubation period of 24 hours, they multiply faster. The swarm attacks anyone who gets closer than 5m to them.
The features include increased sensitivity and a quick response to pathogens of various kinds, for example:
- they are able to catch vibration from electrical appliances at a distance of 30 m;
- movement is caught from 15 m.
When the action of the pathogen stops, the Africanized killer bees remain protected for 8 hours, while domestic individuals calm down in 1 hour.
Habitat
Due to rapid reproduction and high spreading rate, Africanized killer bees are occupying new territories. Initially, the habitat was Brazil – the place where they first appeared. Today they are located in the following locations:
- Primorsky Krai of Our Country;
- India;
- China;
- Japan;
- Nepal;
- Sri Lanka.
Mostly insects live in Brazil, but in recent years, Africanized bees have begun to move to new territories, spreading across Mexico and the United States.
Performance
Initially, geneticists developed a new species of Africanized bees with higher productivity compared to domestic bee colonies. As a result of the experiments, Africanized bees were born, which were called killer bees. Undoubtedly, this species has high productivity – it collects much more honey, pollinates plants more efficiently, and works throughout the day. Unfortunately, in addition to all this, insects are very aggressive, multiply rapidly and occupy new territories, causing harm to all living things.
What are the benefits of insects
It was originally planned that the new hybrid would have a high working capacity, which would allow collecting much more honey. Undoubtedly, this is exactly what happened, only the resulting Africanized subspecies of bees became excessively aggressive, and the experiment led to unexpected results.
Despite this, the African honey bee is capable of delivering environmental benefits. Many experts claim that killer bees pollinate plants much faster and more efficiently. Unfortunately, that’s where their usefulness ends. Due to their speed of movement and reproduction, they cannot be completely eradicated.
Why are insects dangerous?
In the process of moving, Africanized bees cause significant damage to beekeepers, destroying bee colonies and taking their honey. Ecologists are worried that the further spread of Africanized bees will lead to the fact that domestic individuals will be completely destroyed.
Killer bees attack anyone who dares to approach them within a radius of 5 m. In addition, they are carriers of dangerous diseases:
- varroatosis;
- acarapidosis.
To date, about 1500 deaths have been recorded from the stings of Africanized bees. In the United States, there are far more deaths from killer bees than from snakes.
Doctors have calculated that death occurs from 500-800 bites. From 7-8 bites in a healthy person, the limbs will begin to swell, pain will appear for a while. For people with allergic reactions, the sting of an Africanized killer bee will turn into anaphylactic shock, followed by death.
The first death involving Africanized bees was recorded in 1975, when the death overtook a local school teacher, Eglantina Portugal. A swarm of bees attacked her on her way from home to work. Despite the fact that timely medical assistance was provided, the woman was in a coma for several hours, after which she died.
First aid for bites
When attacked by Africanized killer bees, you must immediately report this to the rescue service. Panic in this case is best postponed. An attack of up to 10 bites for a completely healthy person will not be deadly. From the damage of 500 bites, the body will not be able to cope with the poison, which will lead to death.
The high-risk group includes:
- children;
- aged people;
- allergy sufferers;
- pregnant women.
If after a bite a sting remains in the body, then it must be immediately removed, and gauze soaked in ammonia or hydrogen peroxide should be put in place of the bite. The bitten person should drink as much water as possible if an allergic reaction occurs. You should immediately seek medical help.
Conclusion
Killer bees pose a serious threat not only to humans, but also to animals. It is important to understand that their poison is quite toxic, quickly spreads through the blood and is fatal. In the process of moving, they can attack apiaries, destroy bee colonies and steal the honey they have collected. To date, work is underway to destroy them, but due to the peculiarity of moving quickly and multiplying, it is not so easy to exterminate them.