Editing Africanized bee (section)

=== Fear factor ===
{{main|Fear of bees}}
The Africanized honey bee is widely feared by the public,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://killer-bees.weebly.com/history.html |title=Killer Bees |website=Weebly |access-date=2016-05-12 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011005640/http://killer-bees.weebly.com/history.html |archive-date=2016-10-11 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> a reaction that has been amplified by sensationalist movies (such as ''[[The Swarm (1978 film)|The Swarm]]'') and some of the media reports. Stings from Africanized honey bees kill on average two or three people per year.<ref>{{cite news |author=Warner, Amanda |date=21 April 2009 |url=http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/apr/21/beekeepers-warn-of-summer-threat/ |title=Beekeepers warn of summer threat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328083617/http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/apr/21/beekeepers-warn-of-summer-threat/ |archive-date=28 March 2014 |newspaper=[[Times Record News]] |location=[[Wichita Falls, Texas]] |access-date=17 May 2010}}</ref>

As the Africanized honey bee spreads through Florida, a densely populated state, officials worry that public fear may force misguided efforts to combat them:

{{blockquote|News reports of mass stinging attacks will promote concern and in some cases panic and anxiety, and cause citizens to demand responsible agencies and organizations to take action to help ensure their safety. We anticipate increased pressure from the public to ban beekeeping in urban and suburban areas. This action would be counter-productive. Beekeepers maintaining managed colonies of domestic European bees are our best defense against an area becoming saturated with AHB. These managed bees are filling an ecological niche that would soon be occupied by less desirable colonies if it were vacant.|Florida African Bee Action Plan<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/plantinsp/apiary/ahbgroup/actionplan.doc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711040416/http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/plantinsp/apiary/ahbgroup/actionplan.doc |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-11 |title=Florida African bee Action Plan |publisher=[[Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services]] |access-date=2011-01-05 }}</ref>}}