October

Historical seasonal advice for beekeepers and those interested in honeybees

October is notable in beekeeping circles in the United States for being the month, in 1990, when Africanized honeybees ‘invaded’ Hidalgo, Texas. These so-called “Killer Bees” had accidentally escaped from an apiary in Rio Claro in Brazil back in 1957. In this week’s Honeybee Histories exploration of seasonal beekeeping stories, we look back at 1990 (and 1957) to understand the initial fears about invading Killer Bees!

An Africanized Bee or “Killer Bee” (Wikipedia)

They were meant to be part of a research project aimed at breeding a hybrid bee with more desirable traits. The researchers knew that African bees were generally tame, while European bees were known for their productiveness. It made sense, therefore, to try and combine the two and better adapt them for tropical climates. But like Frankenstein’s monster, the result was somewhat unpredictable.

The project failed, producing excessively aggressive bees! Worse than that the bees escaped and established themselves in the wild. Over the next forty years they slowly migrated across the Americas, moving from Brazil up to Texas, where they invaded on the 15 October 1990. Well, they appeared there before that date, but 15 October was the day when the first wild colony was discovered in Hidalgo.

The discovery in Hidalgo was a significant moment in US agricultural and ecological history. It led to increased public awareness about bees and prompted changes in beekeeping practices as well as public safety measures in affected areas. While the "killer bee" nickname and some media coverage exaggerated the danger, the arrival of Africanized bees did present challenges for beekeepers and required adaptations in how people in affected areas interacted with bees.

While I don’t have access to media reports from the time, a 1988 article (just two years before the invasion in Texas) argued that Newsweek’s report that 100 people would die in the US due to bee stings, was not quite as threatening as it sounded. Already, over 40 people died from stings yearly anyway. The number remained small, especially for a country as big as the United States. Scott Camazine and Roger A. Morse go on to argue that:

“Their introduction into Brazil caused great alarm, and the initial impact was wholly detrimental. The reports of stinging incidents and of several deaths soon earned them the epithet “Killer Bees” inciting general alarm among the public. Accustomed to docile bees, many hobby beekeepers and those whose income did not depend upon apiculture simply abandoned beekeeping.

This bleak period in Brazilian apiculture was short lived, however. Hives previously kept in backyards near people and livestock were soon moved or destroyed. Such changes in beekeeping practices, and the education of the public, reduced the number of accidents to the point that now one seldom hears of stinging incidents.”

The “Killer Bees” were not as dangerous as initially thought, although their presence was a problem. That didn’t stop the hysteria and fear, whipped into a frenzy by the media. In reality though, these Africanized bees are just good at adapting themselves to their environment and are more vicious than other honeybee species. Their ability to out-compete their European counterpart has made them the dominant type of honeybee in Central and South America.  In North America there continue to be attempts to eradicate them but they are swiftly colonising more and more of the States. In 2007 they had colonised New Orleans, by 2009 they were found in southern Utah, and by 2017 were found as far north as the Grand and Emery Counties.

Of course, fear about these “Killer Bees” existed in the United States long before they reached their borders. A 1978 film based on a novel by Arthur Herzog and produced by Irwin Allen depicted a large swarm of killer bees invading Texas. This film, “The Swarm” was a box-office bomb, but it worked to ratchet up fear of what the arrival of Africanized bees might do.

Sources

Camazine, S., and Roger A. Morse, ‘The Africanized Honeybee: The Epithet “killer bee” is undeserved’, American Scientist, 76:5 (1988), pp. 464-471.