Discover the history of Africanized bees
The bee Apis Mellifera that inhabits Brazil, popularly known as Africanizada, is the result of the crossing of European and African races. Despite being very defensive, Africanized bees are active year-round, highly productive and resistant to disease.
The production of honey in the country began around 1840, with the introduction of Apis mellifera bees, brought from Spain and Portugal on the initiative of Father Antônio Carneiro, to produce the candles used during mass. In the following years, bees were introduced in the South and Bahia regions. At that time, they were rustically created in the backyards, just to meet the consumption needs of families.
Around 1950 the appearance of diseases and pests almost decimated beekeeping in the country. To increase production, Brazilian researcher Warnick Estevan Kerr brought African bees from Africa, more resistant and that produced more honey, but also more aggressive.. Nonetheless, Por accident, African bees escaped from an experimental apiary in the municipality of Rio Claro, São Paulo, and spread across the country. Many beekeepers gave up the activity due to difficult handling. To get around the situation, virgin Italian queens were distributed among beekeepers, who mated with African drones, resulting in a more productive and less aggressive offspring – the Africanized bees.
Africanized bees produce most of the honey we consume and, in addition, we use several of their products: wax, pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and apitoxin. And more important than this is the role they play as pollinators of different cultures: melon, watermelon, mango, guava, and many others. Without them, we would have serious problems with the number and quality of countless fruits we consume. In addition, they are also important pollinators of plants that produce fiber and other products that humans use. Like any animal, she reacts when she feels threatened, so she and her natural space must be respected.
Happy Bee Day to this little one so special and important!
Source – BEE
