Editing Africanized bee (section)

{{Short description|Hybrid species of bee}}
{{redirect|Killer bee|other uses|Killer bees (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{hybridbox
| name = Africanized bee
| image = Apis mellifera scutellata.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| genus = Apis
| link1 = East African lowland honey bee
| species1 = m. scutellata
| link2 = Western honey bee
| species2 = mellifera
}}
The '''Africanized bee''', also known as the '''Africanized honey bee''' ('''AHB''') and colloquially as the "'''killer bee'''", is a [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] of the [[western honey bee]] (''Apis mellifera''), produced originally by crossbreeding of the [[African bee|East African lowland honey bee]] (''A.&nbsp;m.&nbsp;scutellata'') with various European honey bee subspecies such as the Italian honey bee (''[[Italian bee|A.&nbsp;m.&nbsp;ligustica]]'') and the Iberian honey bee (''[[Apis mellifera iberiensis|A.&nbsp;m.&nbsp;iberiensis]]'').

The East African lowland honey bee was first introduced to [[Brazil]] in 1956 in an effort to increase honey production, but 26&nbsp;swarms escaped quarantine in 1957. Since then, the hybrid has spread throughout South America and arrived in North America in 1985. Hives were found in south [[Texas]] in the [[United States]] in 1990.<ref name=SI>{{cite web |title=Africanized Bees |url=https://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/killbee.htm |website=Encyclopedia SI |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=7 Dec 2018}}</ref><ref name="Valley-Central-Richard-Moore" />

Africanized honey bees are typically much more defensive, react to disturbances faster, and chase people further ({{convert|400|m}}) than other varieties of honey bees. They have killed some 1,000&nbsp;humans, with victims receiving 10 times more stings than from European honey bees.<ref name=SI/> They have also killed horses and other animals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/thousands-of-bees-attack-texas-couple-kill-horses/ |title=Thousands of bees attack Texas couple, kill horses |work=CBS News |access-date=2016-05-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610012109/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/thousands-of-bees-attack-texas-couple-kill-horses/ |archive-date=2016-06-10 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/7006/20130729/killer-bees-kill-horses-couple-attacked-30-000-2-5.htm |title=Thousands of bees attack Texas couple, kill horses |website=Travelers Today |access-date=2016-05-17 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108015415/http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/7006/20130729/killer-bees-kill-horses-couple-attacked-30-000-2-5.htm |archive-date=2016-11-08 |df=dmy-all|date=2013-07-29 }}</ref>