Are Killer Bees Real? New Information Questions Authenticity

Killer bees have become one of the recent myths of American culture. Most Americans have heard of them, but, if asked, no one has really seen one. Undeterred, however, Americans have established outdoor festivals in their honor in Texas, and have named sports teams for them.

According to legend, the killer bee originated in the Amazon forest, through the mating of an African bee with a honeybee. The offspring created was reputed to be a deadly hybrid, one which should not be provoked, since mythic tales stated that swarms of killer bees would viciously attack any creature that unknowingly crossed their path. If escape from them was possible, by the action of jumping into a nearby body of water, it was rumored that these bees would simply wait for the individual to re-emerge and would then continue their attack, without regard for the length of time the wait involved.

Drawing upon primal fears, the legend of the killer bee prompted a mostly urban society to collectively look over its shoulder for a tiny winged boogeyman. Like other tall tales and legends, the tale played upon the ignorance of the audience, an urban group lacking firsthand knowledge of the natural world. It also re-enforced other concepts which had bee absorbed by the society visually, through cartoons and science fiction horror films. The tale's impact was based on this society's emotional response, rather than its logic.

It is a fact that African bees belong to a larger group of bees whose native habitat is the tropics. They are much more aggressive that the European honeybee, due to intense competition for available resources and due to the fact that they are exposed to a tremendous number of natural predadors. To protect their continued existence, African bees are known to reproduce more frequently, to replace individuals lost through predation, and in greater numbers than their European counterparts.