Colonies Comprised Of Millions Of Killer Bees Have Invaded A Big City In Texas Where They Easily Gained Access To Homes
Africanized honey bees are commonly referred to as “killer bees” and they have maintained an invasive presence within the United States for thirty years. There is a great deal of confusion concerning where in the United States killer bees were first discovered. Most publications and articles claim that killer bees first arrived in the US in 1990 in southeastern Texas, but a few other expert sources claim that killer bees were first discovered in the US in 1985 within southern California oil fields. To be precise, the first established killer bee colonies were discovered in 1990 in Texas. However, the first time individual killer bees were discovered in the US occurred in 1985 in California. While killer bees certainly reached the US during the 1980s, 1990 is the earliest known year in which killer bees had established an invasive presence within the US, as their colonies were found in Texas during this year.
During the first decade after the killer bees were introduced into the US, the bees were largely limited to southern California, Arizona and Texas. Now, killer bees have spread to 12 states, and this number will continue to increase. Considering that Texas is where the first killer bee colonies were found 30 years ago, it is not surprising that this aggressive and potentially deadly bee species still poses a significant public health threat to residents in the state to this day.
During April of 2018, killer bee colonies comprised of millions of individual bees swarmed the entire town of El Paso. Unfortunately, it did not take long for homes in the El Paso area to become heavily infested with the aptly named bees. A bee specialist in the city claimed that one particular resident, Elvia Murphy, may have had millions of killer bees infesting her home. Elvia noticed the bee presence behind the walls of her home three years ago, but now, the killer bee colony in her home has grown to threatening proportions. Bee specialists have attempted to remove killer bees from homes all over El Paso, but the results of these efforts proved to be largely worthless, as several specialists, and even a news reporter, sustained stings before giving up on their control strategy.
Have you ever found a bee nest that you thought belonged to killer bees?
