Entomology: Danger from the African Queens

Apiculturist Warwick Kerr figured he had some perfectly good reasons for bringing 20 African queen bees into his native Brazil nine years ago. Though it is known to be ferocious, the African bee produces 30% more honey than either the Italian or German bee that long dominated Brazilian beekeeping: it will even work and make honey in weather that slows down other bees. Besides, Kerr planned to crossbreed his Africans to Produce a more gentle bee. What he got instead was a bee with a disposition so nasty that it now threatens the lives and livelihood of almost every beekeeper in eight states of Brazil—to say nothing of countless other Brazilians.

Hive After Hive. From those 20 imported African queens have come as many as 450,000 new bees a year almost none of which inherited the traits of the Italians and Germans that fathered them. Quick to anger, even quicker to swarm, the new Africans lave turned on Italian and German bees tor no apparent reason, killing off hive after hive. Moreover, the new males passed their bad blood on to new females, who went on propagating the angry strain. “We thought that when they got acclimated they would become civilized,” says Father João Oscar Nedlel, S.J., a Brazilian bee expert, “but the exact opposite has happened ”

Establishing colonies in abandoned walls, on the underside of rocks, on cave walls damp with waterfall spray under tree roots, in abandoned cars in Telephone booths and even in traffic lights, the Africans have killed birds chickens dogs, pigs, horses and four people. Four months ago, a resident of Caieiras, near São Paulo, tried to burn an African beehive stuck in a chimney of a local bar. In a “buzzing mass that darkened the sun,” one reported, that the Africans swarmed into the bar stung a traveling wine salesman senseless, left so many stingers in the bald dome of the bartender that he “thought he was growing hair again.” In three hours the bees stung 500 people. Then they buzzed off across nearby farms where they left behind flocks of dead chickens, a dozen writhing dogs, and two horses so badly stung that they could not eat for three days

Father Nedel’s African colony at the University in São Leopoldo suddenly went berserk, forced one of his assistants to take refuge in a truck, then turned on another man, two dogs and several children. Next day the Jesuit beekeeper ordered his eight African queens destroyed.

“Destroy Them All.” By last week the bees had invaded Rio’s main busniess Street, Rio Branco. A swarm like a great black watermelon was hanging in front of the Armed Forces Military Command building, and African bees were attacking civilians after driving sentries away from their machine-gun Posts. Reported casualties: more than 60 ‘Cariocas” stung and a couple of bees that had been bold enough to dive bomb cars and buses.

Whatever the reason for their fierce tempers, the marauding Africans have Brazilians frantically searching for an antidote. But so far, the only suggested solution is genocide. “Destroy them all says Father Nedel. “If they are not Controlled, they will take over all the other bees and they will take over Brazil. Says São Paulo Beekeeper Luiz Zovaro who keeps African bees, but has had to raise the price of honey from 39¢ to almost $2 a jar because it is so difficult to extract honeycombs from their hives: “If they are not stopped Brazil will no longer be safe. I am very discouraged about the future “