Killer Bees Invade Bay Area for First Time

Africanized honeybees, known as killer bees because of their swarming, aggressive and deadly nature when a colony is threatened, have made their way to the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time, researchers say.

Africanized honeybees, sometimes referred to as “killer bees”, have appeared in the Reliez Valley area of Lafayette, according to researchers from University of California at San Diego. The bees were first found in California around San Diego County in 1994, and since then have expanded their range as far north as the Sacramento River Delta. They say killer bees are now just one more thing to be aware of when enjoying the outdoors.

“There could be another hive behind us, is not excited by us, what I’m doing here, but an Africanized bee hive, all of them would be out and attacking us”, he said. But what sets killer bees apart is the fact they’re extremely aggressive when their hive is disturbed.

And they are very successful and usually take over the European honeybee population, he added.

“They should be no more concerned than they are for rattlesnakes or mountain lions or things that can harm you if they attack but rarely do”, Kohn said. Don’t attempt to swat or crush them. But on the rare occasion of a swarm of bees coming after you, experts say cover your face and run as fast as you can until you’re inside.

But the report indicated that an Africanized bee sting is not actually more venomous than that of their European cousins. But if they do stay, he said, there could be a few benefits.

A swarm of Africanized bees killed a construction worker and injured two others last month in Riverside as the workers graded land for a parking lot unaware that an underground vault housed a hive.

The Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector District began surveilling for the Africanized bees in 1997 after a swarm was found on a sugar ship from Central America docked at the C&H Sugar plant. While the Southern California trio survived, a Texas man died in May after being stung 4,000 times, although it was unclear if those bees were Africanized. Other killer bees were found in Dixon and near Rio Vista, Kohn said.

And the historic warm weather and drought conditions could favor the bees.