"Killer bees" are properly referred to as Africanized honey bees. They do kill people, but only as a side-line. Their main business is making honey and more bees.

In the 1950's, honey bees from Africa were cross bred with European honey bees in southern Brazil. The result was intended to be a more vigourous, productive bee; which, in fact, it was. Unfortunately, the more vigourous, productive - and far more aggressive - strain escaped into the wild; and that's where our story really begins.

All honey bees occassionally swarm; that is, they pack up and move on. European honey bees do it when they are dissatisfied with their living conditions (things like availability of food, sanitary conditions, crowding, and so on). They are noted for being easy to please. If they have a nice hive, they tend not to want to leave it. Africanized honey bees, on the other hand, just can't stand being where they are... wherever that is.

This increased tendency to swarm, leads to two other differences in their behaviour: fierce territoriality, and the ability to brood anywhere they find a minimum of shelter (anywhere from a cavity in a tree, to an overturned plant pot, to the back seat of an abandoned car).

They have been steadily migrating north, through South and Central America, and Mexico; until 1990, when they entered the southern United States. They may presently be found in Arizona, Texas, and southern California. It is the resulting increased contact with people and their livestock that lead to the name "Killer Bees". If a person is perceived to be a threat to the nest, he or she will be attacked viciously and relentlessly. The venom is not more toxic than that of European bees; but far more bees are likely to join the attack; so the victim is likely to be stung far more times. The very young, the elderly, persons in ill-health, or those otherwise unable to escape may be stung to death. Any bee sting in the mouth, throat or respiratory tract can be fatal. Since 1990, there have been fifteen deaths in the United States attributed to "Killer bees".

Africanized honey bees look exactly the same as European honey bees (to the unaided eye). The only definitive means of identification may be being attacked. If you discover a nest of what you suspect to be "Killer bees", inform the authorities or a competent exterminator. "Killer bees" are too dangerous to be dealt with by people who are not qualified. If you are attacked, run away and hide somewhere bee-proof (a car or a building with closed windows).

As time goes by, and Africanized bees come into ever more contact with gentler European honey bees, the genetic programming for their violent tendencies will become diluted. We may never see a day, when honey is sold in plastic bears with snarling faces.