An Africanized bee colony destroyed in Charleston County, South Carolina, after the ‘killer bees’ were discovered during a routine survey. During the extermination, a beekeeper was stung several times by the bees, which were confirmed to be a hybrid of Africanized and European bees.
“They did sting the beekeeper, but he was only stung about five or six times. With many Africanized bees you’re talking a hundred-plus stings at a time, and this hive did not exhibit that type of behavior,” State Apiary Inspector Brad Cavin said.
Image: WYFF4.com
This is the first time in 15 years that Africanized bees have been found in South Carolina. The last discovery was in 2001. In this case, the bees were found in a managed hive as opposed to the 2001 case, which involved wild bees.
“At this point in time, there’s no threat to the Charleston area,” he said. “We are conducting thorough surveys of the area to determine whether any remaining Africanized honey bees exist.”
Officials from Clemson believe that the bees aren’t a threat to the Charleston are.
“This appears just to be a localized incident, but as a precaution we have depopulated the hive and are conducting a survey within a two-mile area to determine whether any Africanized honey bees remain,” Cavin said. “Depending on those results we’ll decide whether any additional efforts will be required.”
The origin of the bees is currently being investigated.
