Apis mellifera scuttelata. Common names: African honeybee also nicknamed the killer bee

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1 Apis mellifera scuttelata Common names: African honeybee also nicknamed the killer bee

2 Description Compared to other Apis mellifera species, the most distinguishing trait of Apis mellifera scutellata is their more defensive behaviour around their nests and their propensity to sting in large numbers. A. m. scutellata are also slightly smaller than Apis mellifera ligustica, but this can only be ascertained with the aid of a microscope.

3 Description A. mellifera ligustica can withstand colder temperatures than A. m. scutellata. While European honeybees generally only reproduce two or three times a year, A.m. scutellata can reproduce up to 17 times per annum (Lantigua, 2008).

4 Description Taxonomic name: Apis mellifera scutellata (Lepeletier) Organism type: insect Similar Species: Apis mellifera Occurs in: agricultural areas, natural forests, planted forests, and urban areas

5 Habitat Description Apis mellifera scutellata is less selective in its habitat preferences than A. mellifera ligustica. A. m. scutellata can be found in tree hollows, rotted logs, earth mounds, rock cavities and in many manmade structures, such as log hives, clay pots, topbar hives and Langstroth hives.

6 Habitat Description They are limited to tropical and subtropical habitats because they are adapted to a wet and a dry season, as opposed to the hot and cold seasons associated with temperate regions

7 Distribution Apis mellifera scutellata is distributed throughout SADC countries. This species is limited by the Sahara desert, the Cape Escarpment, the highest mountain peaks, and East coast of Southern Africa.

8 Distribution Warwick Kerr took Apis mellifera scutellata from Africa to South America in 1957 to help revive the failing Brazilian beekeeping industry, which was using various European subspecies of Apis mellifera L., unsuitable for the South American environment.

9 Distribution The queens and workers of several colonies were accidentally released, and these defensive honeybees hybridized with local colonies. A. m. scutellata has been gradually spreading ever since, causing economic, social, and ecological problems, due to the more defensive behaviour shown by these hybrid bees.

A.m. scutellata Behaviour Apis mellifera scutellata are aggressive honeybees that defend their nest from intruders up to 500 metres away by stinging in the

10 A.m. scutellata Behaviour Apis mellifera scutellata are aggressive honeybees that defend their nest from intruders up to 500 metres away by stinging in the hundreds and chasing intruders up to a kilometre. Victims of A. m. scutellata attacks commonly receive ten times more stings than similar attacks from European bees.

11 A.m. scutellata Behaviour A.m. scutellata respond to disturbances up to ten times faster than European bees (Ojar, 2002). A. m. scutellata also invest more energy into the storing of honey and brood rearing than European honeybees. This attribute is desirable within domesticated honeybee hives.

A.m. scutellata Behaviour Beekeepers have to put on their protective clothing and have a well lit smoker when working with A. m. scutellata. The beekeeper has to manage swarming during every nectar flow.

12 A.m. scutellata Behaviour Beekeepers have to put on their protective clothing and have a well lit smoker when working with A. m. scutellata. The beekeeper has to manage swarming during every nectar flow. Honeybees kept near homesteads are to be harvested as soon as they fill the supers with honey or the hive with brood, pollen and honey in the case of the topbar hive.

13 A.m. scutellata Uses Apis mellifera scutellata provides pollination services in the tropics. Some farmers believe they are beneficial to their crops because they are efficient and superior pollinators than other honeybee species. The value of cultivated crops which are pollinated by honeybees in Swaziland is estimated to be E10 million annually.

14 A.m. scutellata Uses The health of honeybee colonies can be used as an indicator of flowering plant productivity, ecosystem stability, and relative ecological health. Unlike Apis mellifera, A. m. scutellata does not stockpile honey over the winter. Instead they depend on colony mobility (absconding and swarming) to find new sources of food, water, or space if one or all run out. Therefore sugar syrup feeding become handy if such a condition prevails and the beekeepers wants to maintain his colonies.

15 Nutrition Honeybees feed on nectar and pollen. The nectar is converted into honey and is the bee's principle source of carbohydrates, while pollen is the source of protein, minerals and vitamins. With more energy invested in rearing brood, A. m. scutellata often depend on their increased rate of colony mobility (swarming) as a response to seasonal fluctuations in food supply.

16 Reproduction The queen mates with several drones during its mating flight. Queens have the ability to mate with multiple drones (9-25), and store the semen internally in a spermatheca, allowing them to fertilize eggs for their entire lifetime. It lays fertilised egg, which becomes female honeybees or worker bees.

17 Reproduction The queen also produces unfertilised eggs, which become drones or male honeybees. Fertilized eggs become queens if they are fed (when they less than three days old) large quantities of an extremely nutritious creamy white liquid called royal jelly.

18 Reproduction Royal jelly is a mix of hypopharyngeal and mandibular gland secretions. One queen can produce and lay from eggs a day. The number of eggs laid in a day dependent on quantities of food coming in or stored in the nest. Swarming is more important than queen egg laying. Colonies reproduce by frequent swarming, and one colony can result in 5 colonies after a year when both reproduction and mortality are taken into account.

19 Production level REGION NECTAR FLOW PRODUCTION LEVEL (Per hive/year) Topbars Langstroth Highveld Eucalyptus kg kg Moist Middleveld Eucalyptus, citrus, indigenous natural forests kg kg

20 Production level Dry Middleveld Indigenous forests kg kg Lowveld Lubombo Indigenous forests, citrus, aloe Indigenous forests kg 8 22 kg kg kg

(Palarus latifrons) Yellow banded bee pirate

21 Pests Wax moth (Galleria mellonella & Achrola grisella) Honeybee louse - Braula coeca Banded bee pirate (Palarus latifrons) Yellow banded bee pirate (Philanthus diadema) Hive beetles (Hoplostoma fuligineus) Varroa jacobsoni

22 Apis mellifera scuttelata THANK YOU/NGIYABONGA

Bee Colony Activities Throughout The Year

Bee Colony Activities Throughout The Year Written by Khalil Hamdan Apeldoorn The Netherlands A honeybee gathering nectar from a flower. Photo source: forestwander.com Bee collecting pollen. Photo source: