Utah Killer Bees

The second confirmation of the presence of Africanized bees was reported in Utah after being found in the rafters of a Cedar City home. The first was in February when five hives were discovered in Washington and Kane counties. Those hives have been destroyed.

Apparently this hive was able to survive the cold winters of Cedar City because it sought shelter inside the walls of the residence according to a spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Typically honeybees cannot survive Utah's freezing temperatures in hives that are unprotected.

 Aggressive Africanized bees, often called “killer bees” have a range that is usually limited to warmer climates, since they are even more susceptible to being killed off by cold temperatures than their gentler cousins, European honey bees. Bill Ahaus, Secretary Treasurer of the Idaho Honey Industry Association and commercial beekeeper explains why. “Their instincts don’t tell them to store a lot of honey for a time when there isn’t anything blooming. So the btheory was that they wouldn’t be able to spread to places like Idaho, Utah and Montana. The other side of it is that they may be inter-breeding with the honey bees that we have in the U.S. They’re sharing traits I guess.”

 Another possible explanation…Africanized hives are nearly half as large, leaving fewer bodies to protect each other through the winter.