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Killer Bee. By: Kerri Seiler. Natural History. Even though most people know it as the “Killer Bee” its proper name is the African Honey Bee The African honey bee is a subspecies of the western honey bee and its native to central and southern Africa. Native location.
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Killer Bee By: Kerri Seiler
Natural History • Even though most people know it as the “Killer Bee” its proper name is the African Honey Bee • The African honey bee is a subspecies of the western honey bee and its native to central and southern Africa
Native location • Southern Africa has a wide diversity of regions including grassland, Karoo, savannah and other zones • Human over population and export-focused development has occurred but the wildlife still remains • Species that have still remained in Southern Africa range from Rhinos, lions, Honey Bees, & elephants
Invasive History • It was intentional to bring them over to Brazil but it was unintentional to let them escape into the wild • Brazilian scientists brought them over in the 1950’s in order to breed a honey bee for use in tropical climates and some swarms escaped • Since they were highly adapted for tropical survival and had no natural competitors they spread fast through South America • They extending their range by as • much as 500 km (300 mi) per year • The first Africanized bees in the US were discovered in 1985 in California on a Venezuelan oil tanker By 1990 they spread to Texas from Mexico
Impact • Since their introduction into Brazil they have killed about 1,000 humans and their victims received 10x as many stings than from the European strain. • In the tropics they directly influence 25-30% of the reproductive success of the flora. • The flora depends on the bees for pollination, and in turn, flora provide seeds and fruit for their own reproductive success and as food for other organisms. • They’re better pollinators than European • honeybees because they emphasize on colony growth instead of honey production. This shift allows Them To produce more pollen than European bees. • In Mexico they have invaded area’s but have not caused any problems in crop harvests and production.
Remediation • The management of African bee colonies has been discouraged in the U.S. while accepted in Central and South America. This could have to do with the public perception of honey bees, particularly African bees, in the USA and thelegal system the United States. • Beekeepers in Central and South America use African bees in their operations with slight management modifications.
