With the arrival of the Africanized honey bee in Arizona, people need to be more cautious when hiking, hunting, fishing, biking, or horseback riding, etc. out of doors. But remember, there is a variety of venomous creatures here and Africanized honey bees are only one potential hazard. So it pays to always stay alert.
All honey bees look alike.
Only an expert can tell them apart. The sting from a single Africanized honey bee is no more harmful than one from the common garden or European honey bee. Dos and Don'ts Look out for honey bee colonies when outdoors. There are estimated to be approximately 250,000 wild bee colonies in Arizona. Honey bees nest in a wide variety of locations, such as pipes, holes, animal burrows or even in cavities within saguaro cacti or trees.