Africanized “killer” honeybees were what killed a 73-year-old Dougherty County man earlier this month, the Georgia Department of Agriculture said Thursday.
It is the first time state officials have recorded that such bees are in Georgia, Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said in a news release.
Entomological tests confirmed that the bees -- which are a hybrid of African and European honeybees -- killed Curtis Davis, who hit a beehive while clearing brush with his tractor.
Davis was stung more than 100 times by the bees, sometimes called “killer” bees because they are extremely defensive when it comes to guarding their nest, Irvin said.
Africanized bees do not survive well outside of warmer and more tropical climates, such as Florida and Texas, said Virginia Webb, who, along with her husband, Carl, is a full-time commercial beekeeper.
“I am very surprised that this colony is here,” said Webb, a third-generation beekeeper who lives in North Georgia. “I think that this is a very rare and exceptional thing.”
To confirm that the bees were the Africanized hybrid, Georgia agriculture officials sent samples to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Irvin said.
Africanized honeybees have the same venom as that of European honeybees, the state agriculture department said. But their behavior is less predictable, and they are likely to respond faster if they think their nest is being threatened, the agency said.
Webb said European colonies can produce between 60,000 and 80,000 bees a summer. Africanized colonies produce half of that, she said.
The bees are also smaller, she told the AJC.
The bees can be more threatening, however, because they can take over European bees’ colony, she said.
“That’s a very scary thing when you have a bee that will literally take over European stock,” Webb told the AJC.
Webb told the AJC she doesn’t know how an Africanized bee colony got to Georgia but said it may be from a migratory beekeeper who didn’t know he was transporting a feral colony.
Irvin advised people to stay away from bee swarms and colonies and not to swat at bees if stung.
State officials will continue to trap and monitor bee swarms to find out where other Africanized bees are, Irvin said, noting that beekeepers will play a key role as well.
“Georgia beekeepers are our first and best line of defense against these invaders,” Irvin said. “They are the ones who will be able to monitor and detect any changes in bee activity.”
About the Author
The Latest
Featured
