Bees & Killer Bees
Homeowners, institutions, and businesses in San Diego County are properly concerned about the explosion in honeybee swarming activity; the past ten years have shown an exponential increase in bee swarms. New colonies are appearing at a startling rate. Contact us if you have any questions about a swarm or a hive.
African bees, often known as "Killer Bees" were first introduced into South America by researchers who were trying to improve the productivity of European honeybees. It turns out that African bees are very aggressive in everything that they do, from pollinating to protecting their hive! The experiment went wrong when African bees escaped from the research facility in Brazil and began to reproduce and replace the more tranquil European bees throughout South America and now here in California.
Africanized bees are a hybrid strain that comes primarily from crossing African drones (males) with European honey bee queens. Hybrids are normally sterile so even though hybrid bees are excellent pollinators, the queen often cannot replace herself and the colony will eventually collapse when the queen dies or runs out of fertile eggs. Transient swarms of hybrid bees appear in great numbers here in North County year round, but we notice them most in the summer and fall. Each Africanized hive has its own personality, and some are extremely aggressive while others are relatively docile. Do not take chances with bee colonies! African bees have been known to attack people and pets hundreds of feet away from their hives.
African and hybrid bee colonies are comfortable close to the ground; you want to be especially careful when you see bees coming and going from under a shed, in a valve box (pictured), or a water meter, because they could be very dangerous. Well established hives are more likely to be aggressive than new swarms because they have a hive and brood to protect. They have been known to attack in great numbers and they can be deadly to pets and to people who cannot outrun them! Don't jump in the pool! Bees can fly longer than you can hold your breath.
A honeybee swarm is a basketball sized clump of bees that surround a queen bee while they are searching for a new home. Bee swarms that stop on a tree branch to rest for a few hours should be left alone as long as they are not a danger or a liability. They usually leave on their own.
Will a beekeeper help you with your hive? Beekeepers like to collect exposed swarms during the spring and early summer because it makes sense to pick up large colonies of European bees. A bee hive that is in a structure is much harder to save and most beekeepers will not handle those. By late summer and throughout the winter most of the swarms that you see are hybrids which are normally too small and aggressive to be useful for honey making purposes. If you think that you have a recoverable swarm anywhere here in North County Contact us for relocation or for a referral to a local beekeeper.