Swarms: Why Killer Bees Are So Scary (and So Misunderstood)

Subscribe if you love science, chaos, and being mildly afraid of your backyard. 🐝

In this Swarms Minisode, Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole uncover facts around the infamous “killer bees”—a.k.a. Africanized honeybees. Spoiler: they don’t look scary, but they’ll chase you, sting in overwhelming numbers, and sometimes even wait above water for you to come up for air.

But is the fear justified?

🐝 What makes Africanized honeybees so aggressive?
 🌎 How did a 1950s experiment in Brazil lead to bees chasing joggers in Arizona?
 🧬 Why breeding for honey production + heat tolerance went very, very wrong
 🏃‍♀️ And what to actually do if you’re attacked (yes, you should run—fast)

This episode unpacks the biology, history, and real risk of one of the world’s most feared swarming insects—and how they became a punchline and a public safety issue.

🎧 This is episode 4 of our Swarms series—short, punchy episodes exploring the wildest group behaviors in nature.

Transcript

Laura: [00:00:00] last mini episode, so two weeks ago Katy talked about, plague, like swarms of insects. I also wanna talk about swarms of insects, 

Katy: I think insects are just easy to

'cause it's like swarms, 

Laura: do swarm a lot, but I also , you were like, let's talk about a plague. And I was like, let's just talk about like mass killing 

Katy: Oh, okay. Oh, okay. This is a good one. I didn't

think 

Laura: is like a, I, , I didn't realize that this was like a. Like new, this was like a new fear unlocked thing in college. 'cause I 

Katy: Oh no. 

Laura: late watching I shouldn't be alive 

Katy: Oh my gosh. Yeah. 

Laura: Such a good show, but they reenacted it. The Killer Bee episode. Guys, if you wanna watch that, you'll have the heebie-jeebies all night.

But I actually learned a lot from researching this 'cause I only knew a little bit. So Killer bees sounds terrifying. They can be, but really all this, the killer bees are technically just Africanized honeybees.

Katy: Yes.

Laura: So all social bees may swarm, but I wanted to particularly focus on these [00:01:00] because we hear a lot about them and we're hearing more about them in the United States, over the past few years.

So like many things in nature that have gone horribly wrong, Africanized honeybees were created by humans.

Katy: course,

Laura: They're like, you know what we should do? I mean, I'm 

Katy: I'm telling you, it's Jurassic Park is just the exaggeration of stupid shit we've already done.

Laura: Yeah, yeah, 

Katy: You know what I mean? 

Laura: like, well, it could easy stretch to see how we could go to dinosaurs, because we've already made killer bees. Like

Katy: This is easy. Let's just jump Yeah. Make the next jump dinosaurs. It's fine guys.

Laura: Yeah. Well, in the 1950s, they had a good idea and - it was just like one of those things that didn't think about the repercussions. A, a Brazilian geneticist began to breed European and African honeybees together, which European honeybees make more honey, but African honeybees are more hearty to the climate of Brazil.

So they were like, let's just 

Katy: Let's, 

Laura: and that 

Katy: let's just do this. Yeah.

Laura: And then they just let them go. 'cause [00:02:00] they were like, wait, we, 'cause you can't, they're not keeping them internally in a 

Katy: Right.

What could possibly go wrong? Let's just let them go.

Yeah. 

Laura: forward to the future just a little bit. However, the problem with breeding these two bees together is that they are just as aggressive as African honeybees and African honeybees are more aggressive because they live in a place where a lot of things eat them.

Like here in the United States, a lot of things don't eat honeybees because they're not even from here, right? Like European honeybees. But African honeybees, we got tons of things eating them and their honey. So they're just like way more prone to be aggressive and defend their stuff. So as of 1957, they were released in Brazil.

By 1990 they had reached the United States, because they're just gonna do what bees do and keep, make it 

Katy: Yeah. 

Laura: So why is it though, that they're called killer bees and get such a bad rap? They, honestly, they don't look very threatening because they're actually smaller than European honeybees, which I didn't know.

[00:03:00] The danger is the numbers. So social bees have a hive where they live, reproduce and store food. We can all imagine a honeybee hive. They go about their day not bothering anybody unless someone disturbs the hive. And then all bets are off and they send out the cavalry to try and defend the hive.

So when disturbed European honeybees, which we're mostly used to, they send out about 10% of the colony to deal with the problem because everybody's got lots of roles. There are some people inside taking care of the babies or making the honey or out foraging. They're like 10%.

Katy: Yeah, go look at the Bee Movie. Go watch the Bee Movie guys. If you haven't

seen the B movie, it, it explains it. 

Laura: and 10% of a hive could be somewhere around two to 8,000 bees, which is a lot of bees.

Katy: a lot of bees.

Laura: But you know, that's who they're sending out to 

Katy: And that's only 10% guys like,

Laura: right? Yeah, yeah. Of a normal, a normal hive. And. It makes sense that they only send out 10% because anybody who gets sent out probably never comes home [00:04:00] because once they sting, their bodies are ripped apart. Um, because the stinger is part of their ova poser.

Only females have them goes in like sticks, and then when they rip off they die. So it's all for the good of the colony. But you wouldn't wanna send everybody, because what then happens?

Katy: Yeah.

Laura: Well, Africanized honeybees go all out. They 

Katy: like, we can do this better. yeah, 

Laura: were like 10% men percent. They almost all come out with extreme prejudice.

Katy: Yeah. Jeez.

Laura: And so a normal hive of European honeybees, 10% was 2000. Okay, so that's 20,000 bees. So low blow ball. 20,000 bees for coming out at you. Pissed. Some swarms have been measured as large as 300 to 800,000 bees,

Katy: Oh my gosh. Okay, let's

Laura: half a million bees just coming at you.

Katy: Yeah, because, okay. [00:05:00] We said that the locust was terrifying, but at least, okay. What's yes, that eat eats all the plants,

But for 

Laura: they're not even people. That'd be like, , if they were piranhas, 

Katy: Yeah. Like, you're just gonna get \ pinged.

It'd be annoying. It'd be super 

Laura: be okay if you're right. I guess we shouldn't downplay the, the role of famine. 

Katy: No, no, no. That that affects us. but

yeah, so it's not an anaphylactic shock. This one you

just slowly starved to death. Like

Laura: yeah, yeah. The locusts are passive killers. These ones are you, you particular we are going to 

Katy: to die. Yeah. 

Laura: So, not only do they come out in these huge numbers, they actually chase perceived predators. They're like. You're going go away and never come back, , through the use of pheromones.

So like once a hive is disturbed, somebody's releasing pheromones in there, that's like alert, alert, alert. And then they all start alert, alert, alert. And so not that they tag you necessarily, but like they're following you [00:06:00] and visual cues. So they see you, they smell you, and they're coming for 

Katy: Yeah. You're 

Laura: Um, they mark a target and hone in.

Reports have been made that seem to show that they will even wait above water for threats to come up for air.

Katy: See, that's terrifying.

Laura: that's personal's.

Katy: Yes.

Laura: They just all have angry and management 

Katy: Right. 

Laura: So the huge numbers and sheer determination make these swarms deadly. Scientists believe that just , let's say you're not allergic to bees, I guess we're dating ourselves.

If anybody's ever seen my girl. That kid was allergic and died, or it wasn't even necessarily, but got 

Katy: just that, that number of stings.

Laura: Well, so scientists believe that just a normal human being, let's, I'm not allergic to bees, but if I got stung a thousand times it would kill me because that's a lot of venom to go in my body.

But that's just a thousand stings. That's not even as many as the European honeybees might send out much [00:07:00] less half a million bees. , So they aren't just doing it to be jerks though. They do it to defend their home. They self-sacrifice as they can only rip one, only sting 

Katy: You know what? You can make it sound as honorable as possible, but it's still,

Laura: personal. But they are doing it for the good of the hive. They just, they're just taking it too far. Somebody just needs to like have a talk with them that just doesn't need to be the excessive, you don't need to send them all out. You could just send out 10%. We need to send European B liaisons to 

Katy: Right. To the, to these other.

Laura: There, you guys are related. Talk this out. 

Katy: Yes. Figure it out. This doesn't need to happen. You're dying. We're dying. Let's just, can we just pause for a second?

Laura: Interestingly enough, I was reading a thing where there, they seems to be that the African honeybees that have gone to Puerto Rico are starting to become more pacifists. So either they're breeding or either it's island life

Katy: What?

Yes. 

Laura: they're just not, they don't [00:08:00] have the predators there, so they're just losing that like triggered, like they're not all triggered 

Katy: They're not on edge. Yeah,

they're not on edge all the 

Laura: they're just like, if only everybody could just call 'em and live in Puerto Rico. , But to our American listeners, our United States listeners, you should only come across these bees in the southern and southwest United States. So don't fear if you live where I live, 

Katy: but, closer to me. 

Laura: watch out.

So I wanted to leave you on like a, okay, first of all, remember that they're not being jerks, but they will be jerks. So if you should encounter them, first of all, try and give them plenty of space. If you see it, report it. Because a lot of times they like stick up signs and they actually do exterminate Africanized honeybees because they have killed people, who are just mowing their lawns, minding their 

Katy: yeah, yeah. They're not 

Laura: not somebody going and poking 

it, it's literally just being in the vicinity. 'cause they're triggered little bees. But if you can't give them 

Katy: that needs to be on a hat. Triggered.

Laura: a triggered 

little bee.

Katy: Yeah.

Laura: [00:09:00] Somebody's a triggered little b. You say that about somebody who gets mad. But if they do swarm, here's what you should do, because I feel like you should, this is one of those , survival manual questions, right? What do you do for killer bees? You run, you run far and fast, and then you seek shelter.

So you should be booking it to the nearest building. 

Katy: Inside. Not like shelter,, oh, I'm, it's raining and I

need to get under some shelter. No, 

Laura: Shelter in a building because the, I shouldn't be a live thing on animal planet. 

Katy: Was it a car? 

Laura: well, somebody hid in the car and then somebody else went to a house and because of the air conditioning, they like, like all started to fall off.

But yeah, so seek shelter, cover your head because horribly enough, bees do, they're used to dealing with predators and they want those predators to go away like bears. So they are going to target places that are vulnerable and they know those places because of carbon monoxide. So they like, they can feel your, they know where your exhalations are coming from [00:10:00] and they're like, we're gonna target your eyes and your nose and your 

Katy: so seek shelter, don't breathe.

Laura: Yeah. Yeah. Just, well, I just imagine you're just, you're covering your face running like crap. And they said, do not swat and flail don't 

Katy: It makes it worse. 

Laura: It makes it worse. You're wasting your own energy. There's nothing you can do. Just endure it and run and run through toll brush if it's around.

Because at least that is like trying to like, kind of swat them off,

Katy: So find a gra, a tall grass field

Laura: right. 

Katy: to run through 

Laura: them. Run, run, run, run, run, run. Find shelter. Don't stop until you get there. And don't go in the water and wait because they might be waiting above the water for you. I know. It's horrible. , And then horribly, also enough do not, they, this specifically states this on the website that I read it, do not attempt to rescue someone who is being 

Katy: Oh, I know. Yeah, I've read

Laura: which is in that family that I watched on that I shouldn't be alive.

It was horrific, but like 

Katy: they tried to 

Laura: also could die.

Katy: Yep.

Laura: Like, don't try and help someone who's drowning. I [00:11:00] mean, yes and no. You're gonna do what you're gonna do. I'm not gonna tell you not to save 

your kids, but like, 

Katy: exactly. Yeah. If that was my kid and

you're gonna tell me no. yeah, 

Laura: I just put my own body over them or 

Katy: yeah. Like, yeah.

Laura: And then of course, seek medical attention immediately because they, there is stuff that they can do.

They can give you like

Katy: Oh my God. Could, yeah. I was gonna say, not only just that. Okay, so let's say, yeah, you don't have allergic reaction, but it's still the bottom. Can you just imagine trying to get all those stingers out? Like, you know what I mean? Like all the tiny,

uh. 

Laura: just like the, they,

Katy: The credit card thing. Yeah, it would just

everywhere.

It would just be like pluck. You'd have to constantly

be like, oh my gosh.

Laura: horrific. It's so terrifying. I'm sorry if I've, we should have been like trigger warning. Anybody who has a bee fear, um, this is, this is where it comes from. Don't be afraid of those European bunny bees. They're only sending out 

Katy: And to say, and to say again, this is just one particular type of bee.

All right, we still need pollinators. And it's not like all bees

do this in this 

Laura: They're [00:12:00] still pretty rare in the United States. They're just becoming more common because it, they finally reached this area, and unless they're exterminated, they're just gonna do their bee thing. They also can interbreed with European honeybees because that's what they're made from anyway. So maybe that could be bred out of them, has been happening in Puerto Rico or, you know, things like that.

But

Katy: pill. We'll

hook them up with the grasshoppers. Give the bee some serotonin.

Laura: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Katy: everyone out.

Laura: My gosh. Yeah, that's all these swarms need to do is just chill out. 

The trucks are jumping out of the water for food. The only people that seem like they might be just doing it like is the starlings, is like,

Katy: they're the ones just,

Laura: they're fairly 

Katy: fun. They're just like, this is great guys. We're just, we wanna live to see another day. We're doing this for warmth, for safety here, and we're good. Right?

Laura: say 

Katy: All right. That's crazy. All right, guys, we have what, two more swarm episodes

left. So next week we'll go to another long episode, but make sure you guys go check us out [00:13:00] on social media. Just search for the Wildly Curious Podcast and then go support us on Patreon so we can keep bringing you guys great content that terrifies you week after week.

Laura: We're here 

Katy: talk, talk to you guys next week.

Laura: See ya.