African bees are dangerous insects that need to be kept as far away as possible - their numerous bites are fatal. They are ruthless and aggressive, react to loud noises and bright clothes, they can attack when you do not expect this from them. It is important not to provoke insects, not to approach their hives, to behave calmly where killer bees can live.
History and distribution of the breed
60 years ago, African bees did not exist. They were brought out by scientists during scientific research. Initially, these were African bees that were introduced to Brazil. It was difficult for insects to tolerate high humidity and heat, so they decided to cross them with local species. But in the process, something went wrong, scientists made a mistake by releasing the uterus of the wild species, where under natural conditions insects crossed with drones.
So in 1957, in Africa, African killer bees began to breed, giving excellent offspring. The incubation period of insect breeding is one day shorter than that of ordinary bee species.
Previously, African bees were popular in Brazil, gradually crowding out other bee breeds of South American origin. Insects were brought in to get more honey - African bees fly fast, start their work early and finish late. If you compare them with other European species, there are more benefits from Africanized bees, because they get twice as much production from them.
Beekeepers did not take into account the fact that African bees are very aggressive, irritable and dangerous to humans, they emit toxic poison in large quantities.
This is evidenced by the case that occurred during the next experiment in Pirachikab, during the period of swarming, the hive cells were equipped with special shutters, insects could pass through them, but there was no drone and uterus. By an absurd accident, an inexperienced beekeeper removed the protective flap, so up to 27 families of African insects flew away.
It is impossible to keep them under control, bees constantly swarm, can fly away from their nests at any time, they are constantly aggressive in relation to humans. A distinctive feature is that insects can fly away up to 100 kilometers.
Description and features of the African bee
Outwardly, the African bee is large. The rest of the bee is similar to the more familiar domesticated insect:
- roundish body, covered with small villi;
- slightly dull color with yellow-black stripes;
- two pairs of wings - the front is always larger than the rear;
- proboscis for collecting nectar;
- segmented antennae.
A distinctive characteristic of an African bee is not only a large body, but also:
- high-speed movement;
- increased aggressiveness;
- high performance honey compared to domestic bees;
- good physical strength and endurance;
- high viability and quick adaptation to various climatic conditions.
Aggressive African bees can be triggered by an invasion of the hive. The insect is overly sensitive and irritable - the smallest pathogen can cause a response. Even after the threat is eliminated or the action of the stimulus ceases, the swarm will not leave its defensive position within 8 hours.
In order to protect yourself as much as possible from the attack of African bees, it is important to know about the stimuli to which insects react:
- extraneous noise;
- unpleasant odors;
- sharp sounds;
- bright colours;
- sharp movements.
If an attack occurs, you need to know that dangerous bees are not afraid of water and smoke - they will not succeed in hiding in a pond, they will wait at least an hour for a second attack.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
Despite the fact that the African bee is a serious threat to humans, and can cause death, this insect has positive qualities:
- considered the best pollinators;
- physically resilient, tired little;
- able to collect a lot of honey during the season.
The breed has many disadvantages. They are aggressive, their behavior is completely unpredictable. Bees are prone to excessive swarming. Insects are restless, do not live in apiaries, constantly move. The main disadvantage of a bee is toxicity.
The danger of the bee and its prey
Today, information is known about deaths after being bitten by killer bees - about one and a half thousand people died. In the United States alone, more people were injured than snake bites. 500 bites of African bees are comparable to one bite of a rattlesnake. Scientists estimate that 500-800 bites of an African bee are fatal to humans.
After 7-8 bites of a dangerous insect, the person has swelling and short, but very painful sensations. For a person prone to allergies, including beekeeping products, bee stings are very dangerous, because this can provoke anaphylactic shock, and subsequent fatal outcome.
Previously, bees attacked rural settlements, people, and pets. They started talking about people dotted with many bees screaming from wild pain.
There is a famous story that ended in a deplorable end: in 1975 a swarm of African bees attacked a local school teacher. Help was provided in a timely manner, but there were multiple bites, after which the woman fell into a coma, without waking up, died.
More than once it was necessary to stop football matches due to aggressive behavior and the attack of bees living near the stadiums.
The danger of a bee is as follows:
- It will attack if they approach the nest by more than 5 meters. The degree of aggressiveness is 30 times higher compared to conventional honey breeds.
- The dangers of an attack may not only be animals or humans. African bees are prone to attacks on apiaries, destroying ordinary bees or populating their habitats.
- When an entire swarm attacks, the outcome for a person is always deplorable, because insects pursue their victim for more than 500 meters.
The aggressive state of the breed remains very long. Ordinary bees calm down after a maximum of one hour, African bees after 8 hours.
Lifestyle
African bees also equip hives, collect honey and lead a normal life. But only a man comes closer than 5-10 meters to the hive, the swarm falls into a rage. Cases were recorded when insects chased their prey for more than 1 kilometer.
African bees are overly sensitive to extraneous sounds - they are annoyed by the signal of the car, the hum of the motor, even loud laughter. Bees are able to hear “annoying” noises from a 15-meter distance.
African bees are small, but this should not be misleading.
The only thing the bees do not like and scare them away is the aroma of vinegar. Smelling, they just fly away. This can help avoid fatal bites.
Habitat
Killer bees live in remote forest belts and shrubs, on high rocks and in mountain crevices, even in earthen burrows and hollows. You can meet them in abandoned buildings, they settle in the attics and roofs of residential buildings. Bees choose places where there are ponds nearby.
African bees have ever been seen on such continents of the earth:
- Australia;
- Eurasia;
- South America;
- Africa;
- North America.
Breeding prospects
Taking into account all the negative aspects of breeding, an African bee should be considered unpromising and even dangerous, because its distribution is the cause of crowding out other breeds. Many scientists are developing plans for further crossbreeding and breeding of new breeds. The priority is to obtain non-aggressive insects, prone to hard work, and characterized by high productivity.
For the first time, we managed to get positive results recently by crossing with alpine bees, which have a calm character and are considered the best option for such experiments. Perhaps in the near future it will be possible to eliminate the threat by the most safe methods.
Hybrid-grown African bees are a completely unique species of honey insects. They are not only aggressive, but also rapidly spreading, which increases the risk of a threat to human life, because insects attack for no apparent reason and not alone, but with a swarm.
How to avoid an African bee attack?
If a person was the victim of an attack of a swarm of African bees, this would result in death for him. But there are control methods that will help eliminate possible insect aggression:
- Use vinegar. African bees do not like the smell of vinegar, because if you need to be in the habitats of insects, you need to wipe yourself - this will scare away the bees.
- Keep quiet. Bees get very annoyed when they hear a loud laugh, a car hum, etc. Insects become aggressive and attack someone who makes sounds that are unpleasant for them.
- Do not wave hands and move slowly. Such behavioral factors are not acceptable for bees, on the contrary, they act on them several times stronger. Being close to possible habitats, it is advisable to move smoothly and carefully.
At the moment, only one safe method of maximum protection is known - to learn how to live with bees.
Cases were recorded when swarms of killer bees killed livestock in a short time. In addition, their presence near existing apiaries greatly affects the decrease in the efficiency of bees.
African bees are considered very dangerous insects, they are excessively aggressive, and there are cases when their bites ended in death. In order not to face the attack of a killer bee, it is important not to provoke it, to avoid places where it can dwell.
Posted by
3
Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
Publications: 110 Comments: 0