Killer Bees Responsible for Georgia Death

The Georgia Department of Agriculture confirmed on Thursday that Africanized honey bees -- more commonly known as "killer bees" -- were responsible for the death of an elderly man in southwest Georgia last week. The Dougherty County man disturbed a colony of the bees with his bulldozer, and received more than 100 bee stings. Africanized bees are a hybrid of African and European honey bees. The Africanized bee and the more familiar European honey bee, which is Georgia's official state insect, look the same. They both are only able to sting once, and there is no difference between the venom produced by each variety. The difference is that Africanized honey bees are extremely defensive and are likely to defend a much wider area around their nest. They are also very aggressive, and will sting individuals in large numbers. Africanized bees first appeared in the United States in Texas in 1990. They have since been found in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, and now in Georgia. Experts have been expecting the arrival of the killer bees in Georgia for several years. A breeding population of the bees have been in Florida since 2005...more