Africanized Bees are also known as Africanized Honey Bees as they are a honey producing bee. Africanized Bees are also known as ‘Killer Bees‘ and are hybrids of the African Honey Bee and various European Honey Bees.

The Africanized Bee in the western hemisphere descended from 26 Tanzanian queen bees (A. m. scutellata) accidentally released by a replacement bee keeper in 1957. Find out more in the following article!

Africanized Bees have become the preferred type of bee for bee keeping as their honey produce is higher than that of normal honey bees. However, Africanized Bees are less desirable for domestic bee keeping because of their aggressive behaviour.

• The Africanized Bee tends to swarm more frequently. It is more likely to migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supplies.
• The Africanized Bee is more likely to ‘abscond’ – the entire colony leaves the hive and relocates – in response to repeated intrusions by the beekeeper.
• The Africanized Bee has greater defensiveness when in a resting swarm.
• The Africanized Bee lives more often in ground cavities than the European Bees.
• The Africanized Bee guards the hive aggressively, with a larger alarm zone around the hive.

• • The Africanized Bee has a higher proportion of ‘guard’ bees within the hive.
  • The Africanized Bee deploys in greater numbers for defence and pursues perceived threats over much longer distances from the hive.

• The Africanized Bee cannot survive extended periods of forage deprivation, preventing intrusion into areas with harsh winters or extremely dry late summers.