Africanized Honeybee | National Invasive Species Information Center

Adult of the African strain of the honey bee seen at the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater - Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University

Scientific Name:

Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier (Ellis and Ellis 2008; Sheppard and Smith 2000)

Common Name:

Africanized honeybee, African honey bee (AHB), killer bee

Native To:

Originally from Africa; first hybridized in South America (Hall et al. 2010)

Date of U.S. Introduction:

1990, first found in southern Texas (Hall et al. 2010)

Means of Introduction:

Imported and bred with European honey bees to increase honey production (Hall et al. 2010)

Impact:

More aggressive than European honeybees; negative impact on honey production industry (Hall et al. 2010)

Images

Google Images - Africanized Honey Bee

Google.

Invasive.org - Africanized Honey Bee

University of Georgia. Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health.

Videos

YouTube - Killer Bees!

Google. YouTube; National Geographic.

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Africanized Honeybee.

Council or Task Force

Invasive Insects: Risks and Pathways Project - Africanised Honey Bee (Apr 2020) (PDF | 294 KB)

Australian Invasive Species Council.

See also: Invasion Watch Profiles for more resources

Partnership

Global Invasive Species Database - Apis mellifera scutellata (insect)

IUCN. Species Survival Commission. Invasive Species Specialist Group.

Invasive Species Compendium - Apis mellifera scutellata

CAB International.

Federal Government

Africanized Honey Bees Overview

USDA. ARS. Carl Hayden Bee Research Center.

Saguaro National Park - Africanized Honey Bees (PDF | 51 KB)

DOI. National Park Service.

State and Local Government

Africanized Honey Bees (Sep 2015) (PDF | 552 KB)

San Bernardino County (California). Department of Public Health.

See also: Mosquito & Vector Control for more resources

Africanized Honey Bees in Tennessee

Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

Apiary Inspection and Beekeeping - Africanized Honeybees

Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.

Apiary Program - Africanized Honey Bees

Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Arkansas Honey Bees & Africanized Honey Bees

Arkansas Department of Agriculture.

Pest Profile - Africanized Honeybee

California Department of Food and Agriculture. Plant Health Division. Pest Detection/Emergency Projects Branch.

Pests & Diseases - Africanized Honey Bees

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Plant Industry.

Responding to the Introduction of Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) in North Carolina

North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Plant Industry Division. Plant Protection Section.

Academic

Africanized Honey Bees: Where Are They Now, and When Will They Arrive in North Carolina? (Feb 2015)

North Carolina State University. Cooperative Extension.

Utah Pests Fact Sheet - Africanized Honey Bees (Nov 2010) (PDF | 766 KB)

Utah State University Extension; Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory.

See also: Biting, Stinging, and Health-Related Insects for more species

Africanized Bees: Better Understanding, Better Prepared

eXtension. Bee Health.

Africanized Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

University of California - Riverside. Center for Invasive Species Research.

Africanized Honey Bees

University of Georgia. Extension.

Bulletin 1290

Africanized Honey Bees in Arkansas

University of Arkansas. Cooperative Extension Service.

Africanized Honey Bees in Oklahoma

Oklahoma State University. Entomology & Plant Pathology.

EDIS Topic - Africanized Honey Bee

University of Florida. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension.

Electronic Data Information Source - publication resources

Honey Bee Research and Information

University of California - Riverside. Entomology.

Introduced Species Summary Project - Africanized Honey Bee

Columbia University. Center for Environmental Research and Conservation.

Publications - Seach Results for "Africanized Honey Bees"

New Mexico State University. Library Digital Collections.

Citations

Ellis, J., and A. Ellis. 2008. African honey bee, Africanized honey bee, or killer bee, Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae). In: J.L. Capinera (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Entomology (Vol. 4, pp. 59-66). Dordrecht: Springer.
Hall, H.G., C. Zettel-Nalen and J.D. Ellis. 2014. African honey bee: what you need to know. University of Florida, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension. Electronic Data Information Source Publicaton ENY-114 (MG113).
Sheppard, W.S., and D.R. Smith. 2000. Identification of African-derived bees in the Americas: a survey of methods. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 93(2):159-176.