Africanized bee

To help avoid stings from the Africanized honeybee, Dr.

And that same month, two horses in Riverside County died after being swarmed by Africanized honeybees.

As it turns out, the killer bees have proved to be more annoying than lethal, according to experts and local exterminator Gary Fisher, who says the Africanized honeybees are more aggressive than their native predecessor, the European honeybee, but not deadly.

Africanized honeybees have been migrating northward after their unintended release in South America in 1957.

Africanized honeybees have been migrating northward after their accidental release in South America in 1957.

A few months later, Africanized honeybees - ``killer bees'' - invaded the Valley, their swarms posing serious health risks.

said Michael Pearson, an Africanized honeybee specialist for the county's Agricultural Commissioner.

He goes out with full-length overalls and a hat with a veil, and beehives are no match for him, even though the Africanized honeybees -- knows as killer bees for their aggressive nature -- always attack the exposed parts around his ankles.

Since the early 1980s, most of the winged visitors there have been Africanized honeybees.

Martin was called in to exterminate the six-foot, 300-pound hive, which was home to 60,000 Africanized honeybees (AHBs), commonly known as "killer bees.

Experts offer help in understanding the habits of these Africanized honeybees

According to Jha, non-native species such as Africanized honeybees don't perform buzz pollination, but native bees do.

Bee geneticists speculate that a relatively small number of genes drives Africanized honeybees to their stinging frenzy.

It's the first known incident of Africanized honeybees to be in the area,'' he said.

Bracing for what they call a "frontal invasion" of Africanized honeybees expected to hit their state this spring, Texas beekeepers and research entomologists express increasing frustration over the lack of a federal policy addressing the potentially devastating influx.