What Makes Killer Bees Different?

Africanized or Killer Bees:
1- Tend to swarm more frequently.
2- Are more likely to migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supply.
3- Are more likely to "abscond"—the entire colony leaves the hive and relocates—in response to stress.
4- Has greater defensiveness when in a resting swarm.
5- Lives more often in ground cavities than the European types.
6- Guards the hive aggressively, with a larger alarm zone around the hive.
7- Has a higher proportion of "guard" bees within the hive.
8- Deploys in greater numbers for defense and pursues perceived threats over much longer distances from the hive.
9- Cannot survive extended periods of forage deprivation, preventing introduction into areas with harsh winters or extremely dry late summers.

Africanized Honey Bees and European Honey Bees may be similar in appearance, but not in behavior. Africanized Honey Bees will attack when unprovoked, and they respond rapidly and in large numbers to disturbances that European Honey Bees would ignore. Like European Honey Bees, Africanized Honey Bees can sting only once; they deliver a venom identical to that of European Honey Bees. Both types of bee die shortly after leaving their stings and ends of their abdomen in their victim.

Current Distribution: The Africanized Honey Bee has spread over South and Central America through Mexico and into the United States. Africanized Honey Bees continue the northward expansion of their territories by swarming, the process by which bee colonies replicate. The spread rate has been about 200 miles a year.


-frequent swarming to establish new nests
-minimal hoarding of honey
-the ability to survive on sparse supplies of pollen and nectar
-moving their entire colony readily (abscond) if food is scarce
-exploiting new habitats very quickly and is not particular about its nesting site.
-a highly defensive nature
-responding more quickly and more bees sting
-sensing a threat from people or animals 50 feet or more from their nest
-sensing vibrations from power equipment 100 feet or more from nest
-pursuing a perceived enemy 1/4 mile or more


For more information on this pest and many other pests - Call Swat Pest Management today at 812-476-9708