Scientists say the bees' temperament is to ward off predators. But unsuspecting humans will find them to be aggressive, spiteful and terrifying.
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'Killer bees' keep spreading (and killing) across the US
"In Texas, every year there's at least four big (Africanized bee) attacks that make the news," said Juliana Rangel, a professor of apiculture (beekeeping) at Texas A&M University, where they're widespread in the wild.
Today, people in the South and the Southwest are learning to live with them, but the danger remains, especially when the highly defensive bees first appear in an area or when people accidentally run into a colony.
Africanized honey bees don't survive in areas with cold winters and don't like high levels of rain, making for natural cutoffs in areas where temperatures fall, Rangel said.
What states have Africanized honeybees?
At least 13 states have reported Africanized honeybees. In the south, southern
Florida has the highest numbers.
"From Tampa to Orlando to Daytona, south of that, a large percentage of the feral bee population are of African decent. North of that, we don’t have much," Ellis said.
Africanized bees have also been reported in
Alabama,
Georgia,
Louisiana and
Mississippi, though they don't seem to thrive in those wetter environments as much.
The bees have found a natural home in the Southwest, in part, because the landscape is much like the arid and semi-arid parts of Africa they're originally from. Feral colonies are common in
southern California,
Nevada,
Arizona,
New Mexico and especially
Texas.