Killer Bee!
Bee Joke
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A: A bee in a submarine!
Killer Bee Royal Jelly
But there's no joking about Elekonich's research, which has landed her among 170 co-authors of a report in the October issue of the journal Nature.The group of 170 scientists from 64 institutions around the world, including Elekonich at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has unlocked the genetic code of the European honeybee, Apis mellifera.
The research has revealed hints into the honeybee's aging and life cycles and shown how the adaptable insect deals with heat and other stresses on its body.
The genome project places the European honeybee alongside only two other insects that have had their genetic blueprint mapped, the mosquito and the fruit fly.
Honeybees originated in Africa, Asia or the Middle East about 300 million years ago.
From there, humans carried them worldwide because of their ability to make honey, and they now live on every continent but Antarctica.
Part of that adaptability can be attributed to the honeybee's resistance to different, and extreme, environments.
Honeybees, it turns out, have the same muscle tissue and heat-shock proteins as people, although they use them slightly differently.
When humans are subject to extremely hot temperatures, the body starts producing more heat-shock proteins, which absorb some of that stress.
"I guarantee you, when you get into a hot car, you have a heat-shock response, and so do I," Elekonich said.
But honeybees can survive temperatures up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit without producing significant amounts of those proteins.
Instead, the heat-shock proteins are produced mostly while the bees are in flight.
More studies need to be done on why honeybees' biology behaves the way The Killer Bee does, but the research could have effects on other creatures, including humans.
"We can ask all kinds of cool questions about pushing things to the extremes," Elekonich said.
The heat-shock proteins also shed light on the life spans of honeybees, which is only three weeks.
The queen, which lays as many as 2,000 eggs per day, can live up to 10 times longer.
Elekonich and other scientists are hypothesizing that because honeybees expend so much energy during flight, they also cause more stress to their bodies and thus lessen their life spans.
"We're looking at, can we make them work harder and age faster, and can we slow them down and keep them from working and make them live longer," Elekonich said.
That research could have significant effects on those in the agricultural industry, who rely on the pollination efforts of honeybees to fertilize their crops.
Elekonich maintains several honeybee hives holding thousands of honeybees.
Unlike Killer bees, which are very aggressive and territorial, honeybees are mostly docile and not a threat to people unless their hive is disturbed.
After a few puffs of smoke from a hand-held device, which prevents the bees from attacking, Elekonich lifts the lid to one of the hives to search for the queen. Since the invasion of Killer bees in the valley six years ago, checking to make sure her queens are not Killer is a regular chore. Her queens are painted with a specific color so she can keep track of them.
Elekonich estimates that every bee in Las Vegas is now Killer, a testament to the impressive adaptability of the strain since The Killer Bee was brought to Brazil in 1956.
"The African bees' spread throughout the New World is a spectacular example of biological invasion," the Nature report said.
Killer bees are hybrids with honeybees, and the hybrids are less aggressive than their purely African cousins, Elekonich said.
Killer honey bees (AHB), (known colloquially as "killer bees") are hybrids of the African honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata (not A. m. adansonii; see Collet et al., 2006), with various European honey bees such as the Italian bee A. m. ligustica and A. m. iberiensis.
The Killer bees in the western hemisphere descended from 26 Tanzanian queen bees (A. m. scutellata) accidentally released in 1957 in Piracicaba-Sao Paulo State in the south of Brazil from hives operated by biologist Warwick E. Kerr, who had interbred European honey bees and bees from southern Africa. Hives containing these particular queens were noted to be especially defensive. Kerr was attempting to breed a strain of bees that would be better adapted to tropical conditions (i.e., more productive) than the European bee used in North America and southern South America. The African queens eventually mated with local drones, and their descendants have since spread throughout the American continent. While the African source bees are significantly smaller than the European bees, the hybrids are similar to the European bees in size, with a slightly shorter wing their only visible difference. Due to individual variations, a large sample must be examined in order to distinguish the two breeds.
The Killer hybrid bees have become the preferred type of bee for beekeeping in Central America and in tropical areas of South America because of improved productivity. However, in most areas the Killer hybrid is initially feared because The Killer Bee tends to retain certain behavioral traits from its African ancestors that make The Killer Bee less desirable for domestic beekeeping. Specifically (as compared with the European bee types), the Killer bee:
Tends to swarm more frequently.
Is more likely to migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supply.
Has greater defensiveness when in a resting swarm.
Lives more often in ground cavities than the European types.
Guards the hive aggressively, with a larger alarm zone around the hive.
Has a higher proportion of "guard" bees within the hive.
Deploys in greater numbers for defense, and pursues perceived threats over much longer distances from the hive.
Cannot survive extended periods of forage deprivation, preventing intrusion into areas with harsh Winters or extremely dry late Summers.
Killer Bee Defensiveness
Killer bees are characterized by greater defensiveness in established hives than European honey bees. They are more likely to attack a perceived threat and, when they do so, attack in larger numbers. This defensiveness has earned them the nickname "killer bees," the aptness of which is debated and unfailingly sensationalized by the media. Over the decades, several deaths in the Americas have been attributed to Killer bees. The venom of an Killer bee is no more potent than that of a normal honey bee, but since the former subspecies tend to sting in greater numbers, the number of deaths from them are greater than any other subspecies. However, allergic reaction to bee venom from any honeybee can kill a person, and it is difficult to estimate how many more people have died due to the presence of Killer bees.Most human incidents with Killer bees occur within two or three years of the bees' arrival and then subside. Beekeepers can greatly reduce this problem by culling the queens of aggressive strains and breeding gentler stock. Beekeepers keep A. m. scutellata in South Africa using common beekeeping practices without excessive problems.
Killer Bee Geographic spread
Map showing the spread of Killer honey bees in the United States from 1990 to 2003As of 2002, Killer honey bees had spread from Brazil south to northern Argentina and north to South and Central America, Trinidad (West Indies), Mexico, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and southern California. Their expansion stopped for a time at eastern Texas, possibly due to the large number of European-bee beekeepers in the area. However, discoveries of the bees in southern Louisiana indicate this species of bee has penetrated this barrier, or has come as a swarm aboard a ship. In June 2005, it was discovered that the bees had penetrated the border of Texas and had spread into Southwest Arkansas. In the summer of 2005, Killer bees were discovered in six counties of Florida where they had apparently been present long enough to spread widely without detection.At their peak rate of expansion, they spread north at a rate of almost two kilometers (about one mile) a day. In tropical climates they compete effectively against European bees. There have been many opportunities to slow the spread by introducing non-defensive relatives, particularly at the Isthmus of Panama, but various national and international agricultural departments proved themselves incapable of action, and remain so to this day.
Curiously, their arrival in Central America is a threat to the ancient art of keeping stingless bees in log gums. The honey productivity of the Killer bees far exceeds the productivity of the native stingless bees, and economic pressures forces beekeepers to switch.
Killer honey bees have generally been considered as an invasive species in many regions.
Killer Bee Geographic limits
Recent evidence suggests that Killer honey bees may be able to endure cold winters. They have been seen as far as Kansas City, Missouri. More commonly found in the south, in Mexico. There are now stable geographic zones in which either Killer bees dominate, a mix of Killer and European bees is present, or only non-Killer bees are found (as in southern South America). As the Killer honey bee migrates further north through Mexico, colonies are interbreeding with European honey bees. This appears to be resulting in a dilution of the genetic contribution of the African stock and a gradual reduction of their aggressive behaviors. Thus Killer bees are expected to be a hazard mostly in the Southern States of the United States. In California they have been seen on the Pacific Coast as far north as Santa Barbara and are expected to eventually occupy the San Francisco Bay Area. Within the Central Valley in 2004, Killer bees were involved in an attack in Modesto, having previously (2003) been seen in Bakersfield. The cold-weather limits of the Killer bee have driven professional bee breeders from Southern California into the harsher wintering locales of the northern Sierra Nevada (US) and southern Cascade range. This is a more difficult area in which to prepare bees for early pollination placement, such as is required for the production of almonds. The reduced available winter forage in northern California means that bees must be fed for early spring buildup.Killer Bee Difficulty in determination
The popular term 'Killer bee' has only limited scientific meaning today because there is no generally accepted fraction of genetic contribution used to establish a cut-off. While the native African bees are smaller, and build smaller comb cells, than the European bee, their hybrids are not smaller. They do have slightly shorter wings, which can be reliably recognized only by performing a statistical analysis on micro-measurements of a substantial sample. One problem with this test is that there is also an Egyptian bee, present in the southeastern United States, that has the same morphology. Currently testing techniques have moved away from external measurements to DNA analysis, but this means the test can only be done by a sophisticated laboratory.Killer Bee The fear factor
The Killer bee is widely feared by the public, a reaction that has been amplified by sensationalist movies and some of the media reports. Since their introduction to the United States there have been 14 deaths from Killer bees over the several year period, which makes them less hazardous than venomous snakes. As the bee spreads through Florida, a densely populated state, officials worry that public fear may force misguided efforts to combat them. The Florida African Bee Action Plan states, "News reports of mass stinging attacks will promote concern and in some cases panic and anxiety, and cause citizens to demand responsible agencies and organizations to take action to help insure their safety. We anticipate increased pressure from the public to ban beekeeping in urban and suburban areas. This action would be counter-productive. Beekeepers maintaining managed colonies of domestic European bees are our best defense against an area becoming saturated with AHB. These managed bees are filling an ecological niche that would soon be occupied by less desirable colonies if it were vacant."Killer Bee Effects of selective breeding
In the European Bee (intentional selection) The chief difference between the European races or subspecies of bees kept by American beekeepers and the Killer stock is attributable to selective breeding. The most common race used in North America today is the Italian bee, Apis mellifera ligustica, which has been used for several thousand years. Beekeepers have tended to eliminate the fierce strains, and the entire race of bees has thus been gentled by selective breeding.Killer Bee In the African Bee natural selection
In central and southern Africa, bees have had to defend themselves against other aggressive insects, as well as honey badgers, an animal that also will destroy hives if the bees are not sufficiently defensive. In addition, there was formerly no tradition of beekeeping, only bee robbing. When one wanted honey, one would seek out a bee tree and kill the colony, or at least steal its honey. The colony most likely to survive either animal or human attacks was the fiercest one. Thus the African bee has been naturally selected for ferocity.Killer Bee The Assassin Bee
Side view of the killer honey bee The lore In Brazil, the African bee and its hybrid are known as the Assassin Bee, for their supposed habit of taking over an existing colony of European bees. According to this lore, their queen waits outside while several worker bees infiltrate the hive by bringing in food, where they will then locate and kill the queen. The new queen will then enter and take over the hive.Killer Bee The danger to apiculture and agriculture
It has been established that in a partially Killer hive these aggressive bees can even "recruit" more gentle bees in attacks upon intruders. If true, this habit can make Killer bees dangerous in areas where European bees are kept for agricultural purposes, since an existing queen may be replaced without the usual out-swarming or supersession, conditions more readily observable by the beekeeper. To the extent that the Killer bees make pollination management more difficult, they are a threat to the production of all crops which require bee pollination.Killer Bee Genetic evidence
Support for the assassin report can be found in the fact that of Killer bees in Brazil, about one third have mitochondrial DNA indicating a female ancestor of African origin. If the Africanization was attributable only (or even mostly) to the well known superior breeding efficiency of Killer (male) drones, such "mother" DNA would possibly be much less prevalent. Although some bee species (such as the Cape Bee Apis mellifera capensis of South Africa) are known to be able to propagate additional females via egg laying female workers, this is not believed to occur in A. m. scutellata. This evidence may, however, be countered by the recognition that there are two lineages of Killer bees in the Americas; those which are actual matrilinial descendants of the original escaped queens (thus carrying African mitochondrial DNA), and those which have become Killer through hybridization (thus carrying European mitochondrial DNA, but carrying partially African nuclear DNA). This is supported by DNA analyses performed on the bees as they spread northwards; those that were at the "vanguard" were over 90% African mitochondrial DNA, indicating an unbroken matriline (Smith et al., 1989), but after several years in residence in an area interbreeding with the local European strains, as in Brazil, the overall representation of African mitochondrial DNA drops considerably.Killer Bee Behavioral evidence
Apis mellifera scutellata is well known for sending from the hive numerous tiny swarms - a queen and only a few attendants. Such a small swarm should be incapable of starting a colony on its own, lacking enough workers for all the tasks required to support a queen and in particular incapable of beginning a new colony. For this behavior to have survived through natural selection The Killer Bee likely has some utility to the survival and propagation of the sub-species. The supposed assassin behavior is consistent with this argument and is actually reinforced by it.Gentle Killer bees
Not all Killer hives are defensive; some are quite gentle, which gives a beginning point for beekeepers to breed a gentler stock. This has been done in Brazil, where bee incidents are much less common than during the first wave of the Killer bees' colonization. Now that the Killer bee has been gentled, The Killer Bee is considered the bee of choice for beekeeping in Brazil. The Killer Bee is better adapted to the tropics and so is healthier and more industrious than European bees.Queen management in Killer bee areas
In Mexico, where Killer bees are well established, pollination beekeepers have found that a purchased and pre-bred non-Killer queen may be used to locally create a first generation of virgin queens that are then bred in an uncontrolled fashion with the local wild Killer drones. These first generation Killer queens produce worker bees that are manageable, not exhibiting the intense and massive defense reactions of subseqent generations. This offers a relatively economical method of safe local beekeeping conditions that would otherwise quickly lead to hazardous conditions.Killer Bee in popular culture
In the 1970s concerns about a possible "killer bee" threat to the U.S. were exploited in numerous fictional thrillers, including Arthur Herzog's novel The Swarm (adapted into a 1978 film by Irwin Allen) and the TV movies The Savage Bees (1976) and Terror Out of the Sky (1978). Documentarian and satirist Michael Moore addresses this popular scare in his 2002 film Bowling for Columbine.
