The California Department of Agriculture identifies Africanized bees as they enter new areas. Larger bees are not honey bees.ĪHB can be distinguished from EHB by measurements under a microscope, and by analysis of their DNA. Less fuzzy insects with bright yellow and black markings, or with grey paper nests are probably wasps, not bees. Their nests are normally hidden in cavities. Honey bees are about 3/4 inch long, brownish, and a little fuzzy. Many people expect AHB to be larger and very distinctive, but in fact they look nearly identical to the (EHB) honey bees we have long had in California. In 2000 the known distribution changed little, but there were finds further into Kern County, and in late 2001 there was a find of foraging bees (colony not located) in Tulare County. In these areas, the density of Africanized bees is likely to increase, and they may continue to spread northward in California. Updates, if any, can be found on CDFA's siteĭuring 1999, there were finds in most areas of Imperial, San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties, southern Kern County and Ventura County. of Food and Agriculture (current as of 2005) you will need Acrobat Reader to view it. Map of AHB colonized area in California This map is compiled by the California Dept. They entered the United States in southern Texas in 1990, Arizona and New Mexico in 1993, and California in 1994. They were brought to southern Brazil, and have since spread as far south as Northern Argentina, and northward throughout South and Central America, and Mexico. They have also been referred to as "Killer Bees" in the media because of their increased defensive behavior. They are called "Africanized Honey Bees" (abbreviated AHB) because they are the result of interbreeding between European bees and bees from Africa inadvertently released in Brazil in the 1950's. Africanized Honey Bee Information In BriefĪfricanized Honey Bees are the same species as the familiar European honey bees (EHB) used to produce honey and pollinate crops, but a different subspecies.
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