Bee-ware

At the sight of a bee, most of us run helter-skelter in fear of being stung, but is there a real need to fear these small creatures? There is a type of bee known as a killer bee, its real name is the Africanised honeybee and its scientific name is Apis mellifera scutellata. The killer bee is a manmade hybrid of a European honeybee and the African honeybee. What makes this unique hybrid species so intimidating? We need to examine the characteristics of honeybees in order to understand why Africanised honeybees have been dubbed ‘killer bees’.

Honeybees were brought from Europe by early settlers and are actually a necessary species to the environment. If our environment did not have a healthy population of bees, there would be a lot less vegetable and fruit for human consumption. The reason is simple – bees pollinate and help plants to reproduce. Pollen is necessary for new seeds to grow in flowers and vegetation. Bees have lots of fine hairs all over their tiny bodies and when they collect nectar, small particles of pollen are caught in these fine hairs and carried from flower to flower, pollinating them.

A queen bee can lay almost 2000 eggs in a day, so bees in a hive are perpetually busy collecting nectar to feed their young ones. One would imagine that’s where the term “busy bee” originated.

to sting you. You may want to run from the bee, but the bee is actually trying to protect itself, and maybe its own home – from you. You might not even realise you are walking straight into their path and home. Bees really just want to go about their business – remember that they are busy collecting food and would most likely see you as the attacker. If you were to walk near to a beehive, take a look at the little hole the bees are speedily buzzing in and out of but never walk in front the hole. Stay off to the side, and even in close proximity, you will be safe. While protective gear is always recommended, you will notice that the bees fly in and out, travelling in virtually the same general direction. If a bee is hovering menacingly around you, move away calmly because you may have already invaded his path or his home. Bees do not usually set out to attack – so do not attack the bee first!

The Birth of a Killer Bee

Killer bees became a reality due to an accident caused by a human in the late 1950s. A biologist was trying to mix two types of bees together to create a new breed that would create more honey and also have the capability to be more productive in general in tropical climates. The bees the scientist was trying to mix were from Europe and from Southern Africa. Some of the South African hives had particularly defensive queen bees, and these were kept separate, not to be mated. A replacement beekeeper accidentally released the queen bees, and they mated with the more docile bees.

The Africanised honeybee was not nicknamed the killer bee for no reason. First of all, unlike its European and American cousins, the killer bee does not produce as much honey. Secondly, the European and American bees do not swarm easily and are not easily angered, but killer bees become easily agitated and swarm much more frequently.

Furthermore, they are much faster than other bees – which mean you need to be faster to outrun them as well. Their speed has allowed them to migrate north from Central America more quickly. Due to their more easily agitated temperaments and an inherent desire to swarm and be more competitive, it is only natural that there are documented accounts of humans being killed when crossing paths with these “unfriendly honeys”. Killer bees form large groups and will be much more willing to chase in groups and sting. They will continue to chase for one quarter of a mile if they feel threatened. A European honeybee will take about 30 seconds to sting a person; the killer bee takes care of the task in 3 seconds. If that’s not enough, when the killer bee stings it sends out a special smell that incites all the other bees to attack too.

Documented cases of human fatalities are few and far between, but because in all cases the temperamental Africanised honeybees have been the cause of death, their nasty reputation has warranted their name. In reality, these bees are just more easily agitated and will protect themselves and their home much more aggressively.

Can you tell if the bee is a killer bee? Probably not as they look very similar to the European honeybee, but by paying careful attention to the traits you have just learned about them, as well as how you choose to behave around bees, you are most likely going to be safe. Just “bee-have” and you’ll stay stingfree.

HThe Right Match

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the words listed below. Be careful to use the word in its correct tense and form!

1. The rousing speech by our leader _______________ the entire group to work harder!

2. His stern expression and curt personality makes him rather _______________.

3. Thomas was _______________ the ‘dancing king’ ever since he showed off his new dance routine.

4. The outstanding performance by the students this year _______________ praise and commendation.

5. The _______________ plan was to have a picnic at the park, but the heavy rains made us decide on an alternative location.