Dr. Roger Morse wrote in 1991:

> It is important to realize that on April 1, 1964, military forces took over the government In Brazil. Professor Kerr, who had introduced the African bees was a well·known scientist in Brazil and had represented his country at many international meetings; in this regard he was badly needed by the government. However, Kerr was also critical of the military government and there was conflict between him and the local military commander. Kerr was jailed twice by the military, the first time in 1964 when he protested that a group of local railway workers were being maltreated, and a second time in 1969 for protesting the torture of a Catholic nun. In an effort to discredit Kerr as a scientist, the local military played upon the fear that many people have of stinging insects. Since most people do not know the difference between bees and wasps, any stinging incident, many of which were caused by wasps, was blamed on Professor Kerr. 

> The Brazilian military called the bees, in Portuguese, the language of Brazil, abelhas assassinas (killer bees). So far as I can determine, the first mention of the words "killer bees" in the U.S.A. was in Time Magazine in the September 24, 1965 issue that picked up one of these military press releases. Much the same story was repeated in a second article in tile same magazine in the April 12, 1968 issue. Those stories prompted others to write in this same vein and the term, and the Brazilian association with "killer bees", became firmly established and continues to live.

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