Africanized Honey Bees
A sensitive subject as of late, what to do with the bees that have moved into or onto your home?
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Recently bees have been drastically dropping in numbers around the world. However, here in Tucson we have a unique situation being one of the few areas in the country that have become permanent settling spots for Africanized Honey Bees or AHBs.
What are Africanized Honey Bees?
Africanized Honey Bees, AHBs for short, are the result of a failed experiment conducted in the 1950's you can learn about here. Scientists hoping to create a honey bee more tolerant to the climate of South America imported African bees to see how they could breed them with the European Honey Bees, or EHBs, that were imported since the discovery of the Americas.
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When one of the experiment's controls were removed, the hybridized bees were allowed to spread and breed with the wild bee populations of South America.
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AHBs and EHBs are virtually indistinguishable, close examination of the wings or DNA testing are about the only two definitive methods for identification. This means a quick i.d. of a bee flying by your head isn't possible. Unfortunately, we don't have to identify them, it has long been the stance of the University of Arizona that by now any feral Honeybee hive encountered in Tucson is going to be Africanized.
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This is attributed to the following factors:
- AHBs slowly took over all EHB hives that were in the area.
- AHBs multiply more often and they create more drones, this creates a situation where even if there is an EHB looking to mate, it will be with an AHB drone.
- AHB queens will emerge from the egg sooner, killing all other potential queens. So if an EHB queen mates with a AHB drone, and lays 5 potential successor queens, the first queen to hatch is sure to have AHB genetics and will kill the others.
- If an EHB queen does happen to mate with a mix of EHB and AHB drones 90% of the time it will only use the AHB semen.
This has been occurring in since AHBs were first discovered in southeastern Arizona in June 1993. It was so invasive that beekeepers hoping to maintain their docile hives were forced to move away from Tucson. So much so that Africanized Bees are recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture as an invasive species.
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How does RKC Pest Management remove AHBs?
People will end up with AHBs on their properties in two different ways. First is as a swarm, basically when a portion of an established hive splits off to go find a new home. When in this state they are docile and easy to remove live and transported. They are usually situated in a cluster formation on a tree or the eaves of your house. Here they will be calm waiting for scouts to find a more permanent location usually in a protected cavity. While RKC Pest Management can perform this service, it is usually best undertaken by a beekeeper and usually cheaper for you as the beekeeper makes their business off the bees.
The second is after they've established a hive and this is when they become more dangerous. In these cases RKC Pest Management eliminates the bees as it is much safer for the area surrounding the hive as well as the customer.
Pollination in the Sonoran Desert and AHBs
As AHBs have dominated the area we have no shortage of natural pollinators here, in fact we actually have a surplus. This would seem like a positive but unfortunately as they are not a species native to the area certain hives may not pollinate natural plants as they aren't naturally attracted to desert plants.
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Their ferocious multiplication is also dangerous as they compete with our native pollinators for food and habitat. If allowed to spriral out of control one day the Sonoran Desert could look a whole lot different than it does now as the native pollinators dwindle.
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By eliminating surplus AHBs hives we may hope to create a balance of native and non-native pollinators.
Hive removal is a must
Africanized Honey Bees operate largely on pheromones. Even if the bees are no longer around the pheromones are continuously attracting other bees.
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This is one reason we recommend removing the hive and disinfecting the area to reduce and degrade the pheromones to reduce the attractability of these pheromones.
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The second and most alarming reason to remove the hive is what is left behind. The honey will become more viscous with warm weather and with no bees to maintain the temperature of the hive it begins to run out of the honeycomb.
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Draining down through the house, the honey becomes a an attractant for other pests as well as a cause of mold. On its way down it can also run out of the walls damaging all sorts of flooring and finish carpentry.
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Removing these hives can be a very sticky situation, not just because of the honey but also where they are located in the house. Sometimes these hives are located in voids of the structure that are only accessed by cutting into the wall.
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RKC Pest Management can remove the hive, clean up accessible honey and sanitize the area, however, access to hives located in the structure is the responsibility of the customer. Some customers choose to create the access themselves or hire a handyman. RKC Pest Management always recommends hiring a licensed general contractor. There are so many factors associated with these situations, like roofing or moisture barriers, where you can't afford to have substandard repairs.
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No matter how you choose to approach RKC Pest Management will be there to help in the location and possible size of access that needs to be created. Sometimes this may involve multiple cuts, we usually start with about a square foot and continue from there depending on the size of the hive we find in the structure.
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