common name: African honey bee, Africanized honey bee, killer bee
scientific name: Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae)
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/ahb.htm Really good article
AHB suffers Nosema apis http://www.cabi.org/isc/fulltextpdf/2005/20053161519.pdf
Honeybees of South Africa (all species) http://www.sabio.org.za/?page_id=14
Many other basic Africanized Honey Bees traits include:
frequent swarming to establish new nests
minimal hoarding of honey
the ability to survive on sparse supplies of pollen and nectar
moving their entire colony readily (abscond) if food is scarce
exploiting new habitats very quickly and is not particular about its nesting site.
a highly defensive nature
responding more quickly and more bees sting
sensing a threat from people or animals 50 feet or more from their nest
sensing vibrations from power equipment 100 feet or more from nest
pursuing a perceived enemy 1/4 mile or more
Notes on Natural Enemies
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Small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) are pests of honey bees and can damage combs, stored honey and pollen. A study by Neumann and Hartel (2004) showed that A. mellifera scutellata remove unprotected eggs and larvae of the beetles and this behaviour plays an important role in the apparent resistance of African honey bees towards infestations by small hive beetles. They are also affected by the mite Varroa destructor in the same way as other bee subspecies
http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/6362
A number of bacteria are associated with honey bees and in a study of those associated with A. mellifera capensis and A. mellifera scutellata by Jeyaprakash et al. (2003), Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium were found. These have also been reported from other honey bee subspecies; however, other sequences were found associated with honey bees for the first time, e.g. Bartonella, Gluconacetobacter; Simonsiella/Neisseria; and Serratia. Another bacterium, the parasitic microbe Wolbachia, is found in workers and drones of A. mellifera scutellata and hybrid workers of A. mellifera capensis and A. mellifera scutellata (Hoy et al., 2003).
Gene sequencing of a microsporidium from honey bees in Zimbabwe has found Nosema apis, a fungal parasite of honey bees, causing nosemosis or nosema (Fries, 2002; Fries et al., 2003).
In some areas of South America, Africanized bees have developed at least partial
resistance against V. destructor attributable in part to the removal behavior of the workers
(Moretto et al. 1991 a). These authors reported a Varroa removal rate, within 30 min after
infestation, to be approximately 38% compared to 5.7% of that in Italian honeybee workers
in Brazil, such as a lowered fertility rate of female mite in worker brood cells and shorter pupal
development time may well be involved in observed resistance (Camazine, 1986 ; Ruttner et
al. 1984).
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45352082_A_scientific_note_on_Varroa_destructor_found_in_East_Africa_Threat_or_opportunity
The introduction of Varroa into South Africa in 1997,coupled with the spread ofA. m. capensis led to an initial rapid decline in native honeybee populations over seven years (Allsopp,2004). Yet 12 years after the mite’s introduction, honeybees of both A.m. capensis and A. m. scutellata, feral and man-aged populations alike appear to exhibit levels of tolerance that have reduced the pest status of this mite to “incidental” according to Allsopp (2006).He further speculates that increased hygienic behavior and a lack of chemical control used by bee-keepers, is in part, responsible for this tolerance.
African bees appear to deal with mites more effectively than European bees. Hygienic behavior,especially the ability to detect and remove Varroa-infested brood is likely one important mechanism of mite tolerance in these bees. Yet hygienic behavior along with a lack of miticide use is unlikely to account for the levels of tolerance to Varroa expressed in the honeybees of East Africa. Other behaviors, such as grooming, increased swarming, absconding, and even management practices (or the lack of them, i.e., the use of acaricides) are likely to be important.
