Africanized Killer Bees: Frankenstein of Science

In 1956, scientists from Brazil 'shipped in' bees native to Africa. Their goal at the moment was to create a new bee hybrid that would increase honey production. The hybrid created was the Africanized Bees, also known as killer bees. Brazil's honey production went from being 4^th in the world in 1956 to 27^th at the beginning of 1990's. What went wrong?

The killer bees escaped from captivity and began their quest to take over the honey bees. After building colonies throughout South America, killer bees spread to Panama, then into Mexico, and in 1990 they reached Texas. From Texas, the killer bees have found their way into New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Nevada. They are likely to adapt to colder weather, thus spreading to northern states.

The killer bees, unlike honey bees, are more aggressive, more easily disturbed, and less productive. They hate high pitched sounds and are known to attack in larger numbers. To an ordinary man however, the killer bees cannot be distinguished from honey bees. They usually sting the target in the face and leave a scent similar to bananas that makes other bees attack the target as well. However, usually the end result of a sting from a killer bee would be irritation for the human, and death for the bee.

Like the honey bees, after they sting the killer bees try to fly away and have their abdomen ripped out, which will eventually kill them. Luckily, killer bees fly pretty slow, so a human should be able to run away from them in time. If not, the best defense would be to cover up their face (stings to other parts of the body are far less serious than those to the face), and find shelter. On top of the physical harm that these bees are capable of, they only produce five times less honey than honey bees.

Killer bees are an increasing threat to the US agriculture. They tend to blend in and mate with honey bees, thus creating more hybrids. More killer bees equals less honey production. The US agriculture heavily depends on bees for pollination, annually adding $15 million to the crop value.