Is it possible to tell an African honey bee from a regular or European honey bee by looking at it?
No. The size difference is very subtle. The only way to be sure is via laboratory testing. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services uses a system called FABIS: the fast African bee identification system, which is conducted at one of their labs. The bee samples they test are usually sent in from feral (or wild) colonies that have been eradicated. If a bee’s identity remains questionable after FABIS testing, FDACS will use the USDA-ID test (a more comprehensive morphological test) to confirm the bee’s identity.
No. The size difference is very subtle. The only way to be sure is via laboratory testing. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services uses a system called FABIS: the fast African bee identification system, which is conducted at one of their labs. The bee samples they test are usually sent in from feral (or wild) colonies that have been eradicated. If a bees identity remains questionable after FABIS testing, FDACS will use the USDA-ID (a more comprehensive morphological test) to confirm the bees identity.
