Geography 111, Section 002Lab # 9 – April 23, 2010

Steve ZwolinskiEirik GuloienAaron Dodson

Brian Hall

Invasive Species: The Killer Bee

(Apis mellifera scutellata)

Basic information (species, range, life history)Invasive characteristicsSome maps to look atWhere has it affected us?The Effects of The Killer Bee Management

The Killer Bee

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/target_pest_disease_profiles/ahb_profile.html

Killer Bee also known as the Africanized honeybee

Latin name: Apis mellifera scutellata

Range: Imported from Africa in the

1950’s to South AmericaBegan to creep up the coast

in the 1980’s towards N. America

Found in Texas in 1990, now in California, 5 other states

A Quick Bee-Bio: Basic Information

http://www.genome.gov/Images/press_photos/highres/76-300.jpg

Cross-bred between European honeybees and African honeybees

Lives mostly in the tropics of South America, especially in the rainforests of Brazil

Rapidly populating the southern United States (especially in the past 20 years)

Comb Sweet Comb: Native Lands

Africanized Honeybee Spread http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/docs.htm?docid=11059&page=6

Scout bees go ahead of queen to find new home

Queen broods offspring, leaves comb in “swarm” every 12 months

May find a new hive, leaving younger queen at current comb

Much more likely to swarm vs. European honeybees

Usually takes a smaller area (old tires, overturned pots, house eaves) than EHB

http://www.ars.usda.gov/Research/docs.htm?docid=11059&page=2

Bee All You Can Bee: AHB Life History

Mode of entry into invasive rangeAccidentally released in 1957 in Brazil.Attempted to breed a strain of bee that would

produce more honey and be better adapted to tropical conditions (more productive) than the European bees used in South America and southern North America.

African queens eventually mated with local drones.

DistributionAs of 2002, the African honeybees had spread

from Brazil south to northern Argentina and north to South and Central America, Trinidad (West Indies), Mexico, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and southern California.

Invaded BiomesTropicalSubtropicalArid/ DryDesertSavanna

Limiting factorsCannot survive extended periods of forage

deprivation, preventing introduction into areas with harsh winters or extremely dry late summers.

More likely to migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supply.

More likely to relocate in response to stress.

Well Suited for Most Climates (Hot, Cold, Dry, Wet, Etc.)

Thrives on High ResourcesFrequent Swarming and New Colony

Development Fast Colony FormationWorkers Search Farther and Longer Efficient Use of Resources – Minimal

Honey Can Survive on Minimal Amount of

Food and Resources if Needed

Good Invader or Perfect Invader?

Ojar, Christina. "Killer Bees." Columbia University in the City of New York. ColumbiaUniversity, 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.

Africanized Honeybee is Very AggressiveAttack When Unprovoked with More Bees

and a Higher Number of StingsSense Threats from 50+ Feet AwayKnown to Follow Threats up to a ¼ Mile

Away!

Epitome of the American Dream – Hard Work Equals Success!

Aggression – The Key to Success

Ojar, Christina. "Killer Bees." Columbia University in the City of New York. ColumbiaUniversity, 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.

Out competes other beesTakes over pollination and

bumps out honey production of other bees

Bad for economiesLowers honey production in

the marketDangerous – Has killed over

1000 people since its introduction

Are They Really That Bad?

Ojar, Christina. "Killer Bees." Columbia University in the City of New York. ColumbiaUniversity, 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.

It’s Hard Working Nature Makes Wide Spread Pollination of Wide Variety of Plants Including Crops

Plants Don’t Discriminate Over Who Pollinates Them

Okay, It’s Bad… but Not Always

Ojar, Christina. "Killer Bees." Columbia University in the City of New York. ColumbiaUniversity, 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.

Specialists agree that honey bees are economically and environmentally important and can not just be wiped out…..soHoney bee monitoring programs have been set

upThe programs:

Are good indicators of how well the flowering plants and the ecosystem health is doing

How do we attempt to control these things?

http://www.greatsunflower.org/files/images/dark_honey_bee_hemberger.jpg

Ojar, Christina. “Africanized Honey Bee.” Introduced Species Summary Project. 1 March 2002. Web. 16 April 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff- burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/ Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.

http://www.bogoboo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Bee.jpg

Drone FloodingBeekeepers put less aggressive European

Honey Bees in areas where African drone bees are usually present.

Re-QueeningBeekeeper replaces queen of the colony with

the European BeeYields less aggressive bees that still pollinate

Get rid of wild bee nests so that the managed ones will have less competition

Other ways of control

Ojar, Christina. “Africanized Honey Bee.” Introduced Species Summary Project. 1 March 2002. Web. 16 April 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff- burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/ Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.

Also

The public needs to be made aware of the threat of killer bees and know how to properly deal with them:Telephone numbers of professionals, etc

Know precautions to take in case of a bee sting

Fun Fact: At least one meal a day per person is made possible because of the bee, so they are not just pests.

More efforts needed?

http://images.clipartof.com/small/85294-Royalty-Free-RF-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Friendly-Cute-Bee-Waving-And-Flying.jpg

Ojar, Christina. “Africanized Honey Bee.” Introduced Species Summary Project. 1 March 2002. Web. 16 April 2010. <http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff- burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/ Apis_mellifera_scutellata.htm>.