Africanized Honey Bees
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Africanized Honey Bees
Contrary to popular belief, the total number of people who have died from the sting of an Africanized Honey Bee (AHB), which is actually six, is far less than the number of people killed annually in North Carolina from the sting of a European Honey Bee, which is actually around five (ENT Class). In these cases, the person or animal being attacked is unable to get away quickly enough and they are then stung so many times that the poison eventually kills them (Bee Alert).
It was originally believed that the AHB would spread all over North America once it entered in 1990, but since then they have only migrated to the warmer sections of the West, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas which was the original point of entry (Ambrose AHB). Whether or not the AHB will eventually migrate to and become established in North Carolina is unknown, but it is believed that the climate is not suitable for such a tropical bee. Before the AHB actually reached the United States, scientists predicted that they would reach NC by 1995, and it is now believed that the bees will reach here faster by hitchhiking into this part of the country and they probably will not migrate to NC (Ambrose AHB).
Because the AHB would most likely come to NC by way of a boat, many ports along the coast including Wilmington and Morehead City, are now "bee-free zones" and any sign of bees or a bee hive on a boat is immediately terminated (Ambrose AHB). But the consequences that would face North Carolinians if the AHB did eventually reach here would be devastating. Bee pollination makes up for 80% of all pollination in the state and if the AHB lowered the number of European Honey Bees then the state and the rest of the country would lose many of the fruits and vegetables that it has become accustomed to (Bee Alert).
The arrival of the AHB in North Carolina would also put many beekeepers out of work because the AHB will attack and kill the European Honey Bee causing many beekeepers to give up on trying to replace their hives (Bee Alert). Although, if a hive of AHB does take over a regular hive, the beekeeper can try to requeen the hive in order to make it less aggressive (ENT Class)...