Several U.S. Regions are experiencing killer bee attacks, with some resulting in human deaths. Specialists warn that Africanized honey bees are the most aggressive type known in the world.
Detailed reports on killer bees paint a gruesome picture. These Africanized honey bees have been known to follow people for miles and hunt them down. Attacks on humans are not as rare as one would hope as this particular type of Africanized bees are known to instantly attack anything they consider a threat using very large numbers.
The bees started arriving in America in the early 1990’s and have been responsible for more than 1000 deaths since then in the United States alone.
They can pose a serious threat, especially to elderly people and persons suffering from certain disabilities, since the way their in large numbers attacks mean that they cannot be fought off. Only the ability to run away could save a person’s life.
Several reports state that the number of attacks on humans is increasing as the Africanized bees population grows and colonized areas expand.
Experts say that problems concerning killer bees are getting worse, and this year the number of colonies has expanded by approximately 3 times in certain U.S. regions.
The main reason the killer bee attacks are so effective is that each bee can release a pheromone that can be picked up very quickly by any others prompting them to join the attack.
Several experts and witnesses claim that the killer bee attacks are getting more ferocious as their behavior is seemingly more aggressive than ever before.
Reed Booth an expert in killer bee behavior advises that people who spot a killer bee hive, should not attempt to remove it or tamper with it themselves.
A hive can be located in any type of space and can sometimes be much larger than what is clearly visible. Hives can contain numbers of 40 or 50 thousand member , which can attack very quickly and might follow their target for a long distance.
However killer bee numbers could be soon expanded. Several studies suggest that the Africanized bees can withstand environmental changes better which could prompt people to intentionally using them for the production of honey.
As native bee numbers in the U.S. are dropping, the costs for producing honey could rise, which is why scientists suggest using Africanized bees. This aggressive type of been produces more honey and in a shorter time, which could be profitable for honey production in the U.S.
Photo credits: sciencenews.org
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