Had we made the mistake of approaching their hive, however, my nightmare might have come true. While African bees have no worse stings than do European bees, they are more prepared to use them, en masse, in a furious buzzing attack. The spread of this insect out of Africa is now a familiar story. Since being introduced to Brazil in 1956, Africanized bees have spread rapidly throughout South and Central America and by 1995 had reached southern California. The stinging attack of Africanized bees represents an orchestrated defense of their nest, and is a complex, military-like behavior.
Some bees stand guard at the door, stinging any foreigners that enter the hive.
Others fly out to attack approaching intruders. They have methods of recruitment as well. Stinging, an act of suicide for the individual bee, releases a chemical whose odor stimulates others to join in the attack. While all honeybees show this type of defensive behavior, Africanized bees are a lot touchier than their European cousins. Professor Robert Page in the Dept. of Entomology at UC Davis, in collaboration with Greg Hunt from Purdue University, studied bees in Mexico where there are apiaries of both European and Africanized colonies.