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Africanized Honeybees are more properly called, (Apis mellifera scutellata). They come from Brazil; are a subspecies of honeybee that were accidentally released in 1957. A researcher, who was attempting to produce a variety of honeybee better adapted to the tropics than the European Honeybee was imported from South Africa for research purposes only. Unfortunately, Africanized Honeybees not only more quantity and produce honey better in hot climates, they are also much more aggressive at defending the nest. Scores of people have been killed or injured by mass stinging resulting from getting too close to a nest of these Africanized honeybees. The bees that escaped from the researcher bees did very well in the wild and began reproducing and expanding their range across South America into Central America and Mexico. They have been recorded in Texas in October 1990, California in November 1994 and Oklahoma in 2004. Since they are adapted for tropical conditions, they may not expand their range beyond the southern part of the U.S., but that remains to be seen. They can tolerate up to 3 1/2 months of freezing weather.
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