Outside and Inside Killer Bees Author:Sandra Markle Whether it's fear or fascination, most people have strong feelings about bees. While everyone knows that honeybees are nature's helpers, who doesn't get goose bumps at the thought of being attacked by "killer bees"? How can a person tell if the honeybee he or she encounters is a European honeybee or a more aggressive killer... more » bee?
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6 - A smooth blend of lucid text and remarkably detailed photos offers readers an intimate view of Africanized, or killer, bees - descendants of the African and European honeybee hybrids that were accidentally released into the wild in Brazil in 1957, setting off an ecological disaster that is still unfolding. Markle compares the Africanized bees with the domesticated European honeybees and explains why it's so hard to tell them apart without DNA testing or long-term observation. She describes their common anatomy and identical social structures, honey-making techniques, and life cycles, and discusses their more subtle behavioral differences. She also outlines how the killer bees threaten commercial honey production, as well as the farming industry, by habitually taking over European honeybee colonies and mentions avenues scientists are currently exploring to block this behavior. Excellent full-color, close-up photos appear on almost every page, depicting single bees, bee clusters, larvae, and various body parts, such as a dissected specimen's digestive system, barbed stinger, etc. A color-coded map chronologically traces the spread of the Africanized bees from South to North America. Tightly organized and well written, this book updates material in Laurence Pringle's Killer Bees (Morrow, 1990) and makes a valuable addition to natural history sections.
- Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library