Give a bee a bad name . .

The dominance of the notorious 'killer' bee - an Africanized form of the European honey-bee Apis mellifera - may be better news for the bee-keepers if South and Central America than they realize. Recent research suggest this species may well be the most active pollinators of all bees. It matures faster than the European bee it usually displaces and so needs more pollen to sustain its hives. With extra care over placing of the hives and handling of swarms, apiarists should have few problems from the 'killer' bee's aggressive nature. The Africanized bees were originally introduced to the Americas in Brazil. Honey production dropped for the first ten years but has now risen to record levels. The 'killer' bee is travelling through Central America and Mexico at a rate of about 500 kilometres a year. Although US beekeepers do not welcome this imminent invasion, it may well increase honey production - not least because of the African bee's resistance to the Asian mite Varroa jacobsoni, which is currently threatening North America's $US130m honey industry. For more details, contact: Richard Nowogrodski Entomology Department Cornell University Ithaca New York USA

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Format:	News Item biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 1989
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/10568/45073 http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta21e/
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