The African Bee in Africa
Anyone interested in the African bee, should obtain a copy of
"Honeybees of Africa" by H. R. Hepburn (Springer, 1998). In he
presents the results of his "odyssey wending from the Cape of Good
Hope to the foothills of the Pyrenees". There are chapters on
everything from the different bio-geographical areas to the various
creatures that prey upon African bees in these various regions.
Especially interesting is his chapter on "Colony Defense". He gives
references that cite the extreme aggressiveness of "scutellata" that
go back to 1912. He states "episodes of intense stinging are recorded
in response to simple movement or even an odour". According to
Hepburn, the unprovoked aggressiveness of "adasonii" is NO MYTH. Other
types such as "capensis", "monticola" can be worked with ease, without
protective clothing or even smoke.
Evidently, the aggressiveness is highly variable. It may be affected
by the time of day, the weather, and the season. Within the same
country, highland bees are often more docile than lowland ones, but
some researchers noted the opposite. "Scutellata" is said to be
especially aggressive when swarming. Increase aggressiveness was
associated with strong nectar flows.
In one study 22 colonies were observed during manipulations that
involved measuring the areas of brood. Some colonies were "very
docile" and could be subdued with careful use of smoke. Some became
very agitated and did not settle down for up to two hours. The most
aggressive colonies would attack at 200 meters (more than 600 feet)
"before he even got near them, much less opened them".
Another section of interest is the discussion of cell size of various
African species. He mentions Ruttner's description of the correlation
between latitude, altitude, and the size of honey bees. However, he
warns against generalizing because of the many exceptions that can be
noted. The average cell size of African bees ranges from 4.6 mm (1080
per square decimeter) to 5.0 mm (925). The smallest sizes are not
confined to the equatorial region, nor do the large ones necessarily
occur in the more temperate sections of Africa.
The two smallest are "lamarckii" which is found in Egypt, and
"litorea" which ranges from the equator to 30 degrees south.
"Scutellata" cells average 4.9 mm, making it one of the larger African
bees. It is found from the equatorial region, southward past 30
degrees, to the tip of southern Africa. Similar latitudes include all
of tropical America and the southern US.
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pb
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