How is a regular honey bee different from an Africanized honey bee?
Africanized honey bees are a different subspecies and have an aggressive defensive behavior. European and Africanized honey bees appear the same and are able to interbreed successfully. New honey bee colonies become contaminated when male Africanized honey bees mate with European honey bee virgin queens, eventually producing hybrid offspring. A genetic test must be used to confirm Africanized honey bees, but the following may provide clues of a tainted colony. Adults tend to swarm more frequently and are more apt to completely abandon the hive if disturbed. Colonies are more likely to nest underground and migrate for food as seasons change. Colonies cannot survive long periods of forage deprivation so are restricted from areas with harsh winters. The queen dedicates more colony members to “guard” the nest and deploys greater numbers to defend the nest when threatened. For example, a European honey bee colony may send 10 soldiers in defense while Africanized honey bees may send more tha
