The Africanized bee is a hybrid species of the Western honey bee. These so-called “killer” bees were established when bees from southern Africa and local Brazilian honey bees mated. This is why they earned the nickname “killer bee.”

Avoid wearing floral or citrus aftershaves or perfume. Check your house and yard at least once a month to see if there are any signs of bees taking up residence. If you do find a swarm or colony, leave it be and keep family and pets away. Find a pest control company or a local beekeeper to solve the problem.

In the 1950s, researchers created a hybrid between African and Western honey bees to increase pollination, but it did not turn out as they had hoped. The bees escaped from captivity and spread faster than anyone thought possible, making their way to the United States by 1985.

Killer bees are found mainly in southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, western Louisiana, southern Arkansas, and central and southern Florida.

Africanized honey bees are typically much more defensive than other varieties of honey bees, and react to disturbances faster than European honey bees. They can chase a person a quarter of a mile (400 m); they have killed some 1,000 humans, with victims receiving 10 times more stings than from European honey bees.

As long as you don’t disturb them and give them some space, bees will pretty much leave you alone. They’re even less interested in stinging you than you are in being stung, after all.

Can bees fly in the rain? They can fly in light rain, but they don’t like to. A heavy rain can make their wings wet, slowing them down. If the raindrops are really big, they can break a bee’s wing.

Bees dies in winter, too But bees continue to die every day even in winter. The losses are not as high because the bees are not foraging and because winter bees have special adaptations that allow them to live longer than summer bees.