![]() They will abscond and take-over of nests of European honey bees. ![]() Responding quickly to seasonal changes, pollen or nectar shortages, they will very often swarm six to twelve times per year. Africanized bees tend to be more individual foragers than European bees and can forage well in times and areas where the flow of pollen and nectar is weak. Drones are born rapidly and in large numbers. Honey is readily consumed for the colony’s reproduction with population growth so while significant honey is produced most is consumed and not stored in the hive’s honeycombs. mellifera scutellata) however have been shown to generate three times as much honey as traditional European honey bees (Winston, 1992), which apparently do not adapt to tropical regions. Africanized bees are tropical bees and have no winter honey storage behavior. The most common Europe bee race used in the United States today is the Italian bee, Apis mellifera ligustica. By selecting only the most gentle, non-defensive races, beekeepers have, over centuries, eliminated the more defensive races and created a number of subspecies suitable for apiculture. Modifications to the AHB strain has been able to produce less aggressive strains done, both selective breeding and natural selection. Despite the AHB displays of aggression they have now become the dominant type of honey bee for beekeeping in Central and South America partly because of their genetic dominance as well as that they are superior honey producers and pollinators. Arizona in 1994 where 15 percent of the bee populations had been Africanized today it has grown to 90. ![]() They are sometimes called “Killer Bees”.Īfricanized bees were discovered in the USA around 1985 in California’s San Joaquin Valley. They more than likely possess behaviors which make them undesirable. These bees have spread throughout South and Central America, Mexico and the southern United States. The African honey bee was first introduced to Brazil in the 1950s in an effort to increase honey production but, in 1957, 26 swarms accidentally escaped quarantine and, since then, have spread throughout South and Central America and arrived in North America in 1985. These bees’ genetic roots come from “Apis mellifera scutellata”. Not typically found in Maryland but as our climate changes to different zoning this may change.Īfrican Honey Bees are native to the Savanna country of eastern and southern Africa thusly they are referred to as Africanized honey bees (AHB). ![]()
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