And once disturbed, the insects can stay agitated for a full day, attacking people and animals up to a quarter mile from the nest. Recently, Page mapped a gene that may account for the Africanized bee s intolerance to disturbance. When one of the insects stings you, this gene may be responsible for leaving behind a trace of a pheromone that attracts large numbers of nest mates. Indeed, most victims of bee attacks in Mexico have also been elderly or infirmed people who are unable to run away. So far, such multiple-sting attacks are rare in Los Angeles.
Page believes it s because the bees are still new to the city.
Typically, it takes two to three years for Africanized bees to become established and to exhibit their trademark defensive behavior. In Tucson, Arizona, for example, where Africanized bees have been found since 1994, stinging incidents involving humans have increased up to tenfold since the insects first arrived. He says that the bees have killed several horses, as well as dozens of dogs, across the state. And since they broke out of quarantine in Brazil over four decades ago, Africanized bees have taken more than 1,000 human lives in the Americas, up to 8 of them in the United States. If you cannot get inside, cover your face and eyes with your jacket or shirt and run.