— but very destructive when threatened

WITH the deadly African honey bees in the capital city, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) has embarked upon a double role, launching public education campaigns highlighting precautionary measures for safety and preservation of the productive insects for agricultural and economic benefits.

Acting Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GLDA, Michael Welch, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said African honey bees are the most aggressive of bees, but contribute significantly to the country’s agricultural development.
“Bees are pollinators [and] without bees we wouldn’t have 70 per cent of our crops,” he said.
Welch said though the insects are the most aggressive, contrary to the “African killer bees” stereotype which has been attached to them by movie creators and other individuals, the honey bees launch vicious attacks only whenever they feel threatened and their own methods of warning suspected enemies fail.

He said his department has a unique role in trying to preserve a healthy presence of the African bees and protecting the lives of individuals and animals, and has created a unit to deal specifically with apiculture.
“We have to balance between destroying the bees — which can negatively affect agriculture — and protecting people’s livelihoods, protecting people’s safety, protecting animals. As a consequence of that, we have a unit at GLDA, a small unit of two very big people who would tend to respond. The objective of the unit is to preserve the industry and what we try to do as far as possible is to capture and relocate the bees as far as we can,” he explained.
However, Welch said there are some swarms which must be destroyed.

“There are feral swarms, wild hot swarms, which based on their position and based on the threat they pose, we may not be in a position to capture and to relocate so we will have to destroy. But we try as far as it’s practical not to kill them.”

EDUCATION
Honey bees become problematic when they are misunderstood and feel threatened and people can prevent becoming their victims by educating themselves about the bees and how to deal with them.
The bees are black with yellow bars across their lower bodies and if anyone notices an invasion of their residence, office, or any place close by, they are encouraged to contact the GLDA on 220-2864 for assistance.

Welch said the unit also collaborates with private bee-keepers in all regions throughout Guyana to safely remove or destroy hives.
Thousands of bees — even up to more than 120,000 of the venomous insects — can live in one hive, with the queen bee being a “laying machine,” producing between 1500 to 3000 eggs daily.
The department has a limited budget, and as such, provides free services only to schools, hospitals, Government offices, senior citizens and the financially challenged.
“But the problem with the bees is that they are all over the place. It’s a challenge and we contribute to that when we throw our old stove outside and our old fridge outside or we have a derelict vehicle. Keep your environment clean, because if you don’t do that you are creating a haven for the bees to come,” he advised.

Anyone who sees African honey bees in his/her home must immediately secure themselves under a mosquito net. Lights outside the house should be left on, so that the bees can remain on the outside of the building, since they are attracted to lights.
However, if someone is attacked by such bees the best thing to do is run as far away as possible. Do not jump into a trench for cover.

SUICIDE COMMANDOS
“You can run, any quarter mile or half mile is out of the zone, and they will not pursue you. These bees are very dangerous. They are suicide commandos. They rather sacrifice themselves for the good of the hive. So if a 100 die and 10,000 are saved, then mission accomplished.”

“The bees generally try to go into your nostrils, your mouth and your ear, because they came from the plains of Africa – Africanised bees –initially they were not domesticated in hives, [but] would find crevices and cracks and there is where they would normally live. So when they come into contact with you, that is the first place they would try to enter, so one of the things people need to do is cover their head as they try to come out the area.”

He said too that a fire can be lit to use smoke as a way to calm the bees, but the use of insecticide will aggravate them. When a bee is being attacked, it sends a stress signal which invites reinforcement from thousands and a deadly attack can result. Pets must also be kept away from the bees, or they will be stung if they come into contact with them.
African bees migrated across the border to Guyana in the 1970s after escaping from 26 different hives on a bee farm in Brazil. They were taken there from Africa to mix with the Italian strain for the production of a better quality honey.

Italian honey bees which were at the time prevalent in Guyana were overpowered by the African honey bees.
“Because [the African bees] are so aggressive, they bred with the female queens from the Italian strain and eventually they bred out most of the Italian blood from the bees – so what you get now is mainly Africanised honey bees,” Welch said.