EVERY month, there are reports of Africanised bees attacking individuals, mostly those engaged in agriculture, and stinging their victims to death. Last November, for instance, the print media carried reports of three such deaths. The first was that of an older man who was cutting down a tree when he disturbed a nest of such bees. The second was a rice farmer who did not realise that the bees had started nesting in his tractor, and when out in the field, they attacked him. The other was a young man in the Rupununi who was walking along the road when a swarm suddenly attacked him.
Before the appearance of Africanised bees in Guyana, the bees that hived or even lived in the wild were a species of European bees known as Capilano, which had a mild disposition. Even when they attacked, such as when defending the queen, they did not swarm persistently, and their bites, though painful and often leading to fevers, never resulted in fatalities.
The Africanised bee is a hybrid, and its origin is interesting: some Brazilian scientists wished to increase the productivity of their hives by interbreeding an African species. Before they could conclude their research and experiment, some of the original African bees escaped into the wild, crossed with the local bees, and soon, the Capilanos were eliminated, leaving only the hybrid. This pattern quickly spread throughout South and Central America, and in Guyana today, all hives are Africanised.
Beekeepers experience little or no difference between servicing traditional Capilano hives and those of Africanised bees. It is the public at large who see and feel the difference. To the public, the Africanised bee resembles a wasp (marabunta) with its elongated body, of a darker hue than a Capilano, and the fact that it attacks in a swarm which never seems to thin. The poison of their sting appears to be more potent than in other types of bees.
Attacks by Africanised bees are unpredictable, and it is this element of surprise which makes their attacks so dangerous and often fatal. Victims of attacks have tried various methods of escape: lying on the ground, hoping the swarm will pass over; jumping into rivers or pools of water, trying to insulate most parts of the body; being attired in a colour which could calm the bees, though there is no agreement on what that colour is; running away as fast as possible, assuming that the swarm will not follow beyond a certain distance; and rolling one’s body on the ground, hoping that the attack will thin away. All these attempts at escape have been unsuccessful, since the bees never desist from their attack, and the poison from their stings weakens and slows the victim in their attempts to escape.
So far, the medical and scientific professions or any governmental authority have not come forward with any answer to this menace of attacks by Africanised bees. We feel this has been so because these bodies have never turned their attention to finding a solution. We would, therefore, suggest that the Ministry of Agriculture and its scientific arm, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI): (i) Conduct a methodical worldwide survey to find out what has been done in the area of protection against attacks by these bees. If any feasible solutions are found in the survey, they should be tried and tested immediately. (ii) Undertake research to discover an insect repellent which would prevent the insects from coming near the body. (The insect repellents currently on the market are ineffective, since the bees attack despite their use.) (iii) Develop an antidote against the poison from the stings of these Africanised bees. (iv) Train medical personnel to administer emergency help to victims of bee, wasp, and other insect attacks.
The GCA has written to the Honourable Minister of Agriculture asking him to take measures to address the menace of attacks by Africanised bees, and we are optimistic that the Guyanese public will, at last, be offered some relief.
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Publish date : 2025-01-11 16:00:00
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