Bees are an old friend of man, with whom a mutually beneficial relationship has been established since ancient times. But have you heard of killer bees? It sounds scary and, in fact, they were given the nickname for a reason. And they appeared and spread not without human help. The desire to improve the ability of European bees to obtain more honey has led to serious consequences.
The history of the appearance of killer bees
Back in 1956, the Brazilian entomologist and geneticist Warwick Kerr bred a new species of honey bee - the so-called "Africanized" bee. In the course of observations and experiments with the African species of insects, he discovered that the latter has the properties missing to its congeners: it works longer, flies farther, differs in endurance and gives many times more honey.
Warwick worked on crossing bees to create an improved species that could work in the challenging Brazilian conditions. And soon after the discovery of the miraculous properties of the African bee, its hybrids with European species were created. The keeping of these insects was strictly controlled until one careless beekeeper from a neighboring apiary released the bees.
The challenging nature of killer bees
For all its unique features, the miracle bee has a very capricious character: it is aggressive, strong, and its poison is more dangerous than that of other relatives.
Several hundred human deaths from Africanized bees are now known. No wonder they were given such a nickname - "killer bees".
Hybrid insects attack living creatures within a radius of 5 meters and chase their prey for half a kilometer. Bred in Brazil, they have already survived the "aboriginal" bees from South America and continue to stubbornly move to the north of the continent, posing a great threat to human health and life.
The attempts of the Brazilians to destroy the unsuccessful and dangerous hybrid were in vain, since the killer bees multiplied many times faster than they could be destroyed. As a result, the bee gained further distribution, and was helped by its extraordinary endurance, which was emphasized when creating the species.
This insect attacks everything that moves, including livestock, birds, and, worst of all, humans.
At the moment, the continuation of the spread of the hybrid threatens to reduce the production of honey, and also undermines the agriculture of the Americans, since the reproduction of many plant cultures directly depends on the pollination of them by bees, and for this purpose it is dangerous to use killer bees.
Also in America, a committee on bees has been created, working on the invention of a way to stop the spread of the hybrid, and a large fine and even imprisonment has been assigned for the import of these bees and their larvae into the country.
