1 00:00:00,198 --> 00:00:17,818 This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. 2 00:00:17,818 --> 00:00:22,343 The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily 3 00:00:22,343 --> 00:00:26,227 the only ones to the mysteries we will examine. 4 00:00:27,228 --> 00:00:33,235 A deadly bee is spreading northward toward the United States. 5 00:00:33,235 --> 00:00:40,243 A scientific test of their aggressiveness was attempted in Brazil by bee expert Dr. Norman Gary. 6 00:00:40,243 --> 00:00:46,250 Five hundred bees have already come out. They're hitting my legs like crazy. 7 00:00:46,250 --> 00:00:52,256 I think we're overdoing this one for sure. They're all over my ankles. I'm going to have to move out. 8 00:00:53,257 --> 00:00:56,261 One is stinging me through the top of the head. 9 00:00:59,264 --> 00:01:02,267 I wasn't prepared for the kind of action we're getting here. 10 00:01:10,276 --> 00:01:12,279 One just got inside my veil. 11 00:01:12,279 --> 00:01:26,294 One's inside, two inside my veil. One's stinging to here. 12 00:01:26,294 --> 00:01:31,300 I'm sure I wasn't prepared for this one. 13 00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:47,318 The majestic hills that surround Rio de Janeiro usually protect this beautiful city from the jungles beyond. 14 00:01:51,322 --> 00:01:58,330 On September 16, 1965, however, a swarm of killer bees attacked in downtown Rio. 15 00:01:58,330 --> 00:02:02,335 In their frenzy, they bombarded anything that moved. 16 00:02:10,344 --> 00:02:12,346 Sixty people were badly stung. 17 00:02:12,346 --> 00:02:19,354 A fierce new breed of honey bee now threatens the once happy partnership between man and bee. 18 00:02:19,354 --> 00:02:24,359 It is a threat, however, that must be met with understanding, not fear. 19 00:02:24,359 --> 00:02:28,364 Frightening as it seems, the killer bee deserves our respect. 20 00:02:28,364 --> 00:02:35,372 It works harder, lives longer, breeds faster, and produces up to twice as much honey as other bees. 21 00:02:37,374 --> 00:02:44,382 To comprehend the behavior of killer bees, we must look first at the European honey bee common in the United States. 22 00:02:44,382 --> 00:02:48,386 Dr. Norman Gary is an expert in bee behavior. 23 00:02:48,386 --> 00:02:55,394 To him, the complex and usually unseen world within a beehive is a familiar yet ever fascinating place. 24 00:02:59,399 --> 00:03:04,404 Ordinary smoke pacifies the bees, allowing a close inspection of the hive. 25 00:03:07,408 --> 00:03:11,412 Inside lies a highly organized insect society. 26 00:03:11,412 --> 00:03:15,417 Bees in fact are among the most social of all living things. 27 00:03:15,417 --> 00:03:22,424 The pure beeswax cones composed of thousands of geometric cells form an intricate housing unit. 28 00:03:22,424 --> 00:03:29,432 Certain cells store pollen and honey. Others are used as brood chambers to raise new bees. 29 00:03:32,436 --> 00:03:38,442 Most of the hive is made up of workers, each with a special job to perform. 30 00:03:38,442 --> 00:03:43,448 Some workers do nothing but fan their wings at the hive's entrance. 31 00:03:43,448 --> 00:03:50,456 They are the air conditioning unit, fanning tirelessly to ventilate the hive, maintaining an even temperature. 32 00:03:53,459 --> 00:03:59,466 Other bees work at keeping the hive clean or in building and repairing the vital cones. 33 00:03:59,466 --> 00:04:05,473 No bee is ever without a job. The work of maintaining the hive is continuous. 34 00:04:05,473 --> 00:04:10,478 Mortician bees specialize in removing the bodies of dead bees. 35 00:04:10,478 --> 00:04:15,484 One way or another, deceased workers are unceremoniously cast away. 36 00:04:17,486 --> 00:04:22,492 At the center of every hive is a larger, dominant bee, the queen. 37 00:04:25,495 --> 00:04:33,504 Constantly surrounded by a coterie of attendants that does nothing but feed and groomer, the queen is literally mother of the hive. 38 00:04:33,504 --> 00:04:43,515 She exudes powerful odors or pheromones that give the workers a sense of communal security and ensure that no new queens will be bred. 39 00:04:46,519 --> 00:04:53,526 Yet her most important role is as the hive's sole egg layer, up to 1,500 eggs each day. 40 00:04:55,529 --> 00:04:58,532 For three weeks the new eggs develop and grow. 41 00:05:03,538 --> 00:05:08,543 The bees emerge as fully formed adults. 42 00:05:15,551 --> 00:05:20,557 Each new bee chews through the capping of its brood chamber, ready to go to work. 43 00:05:21,558 --> 00:05:24,561 A bee is now ready to go to work. 44 00:05:25,562 --> 00:05:31,569 Each new bee chews through the capping of its brood chamber, ready to go to work. 45 00:05:32,570 --> 00:05:35,574 A bee's life will last but six weeks. 46 00:05:36,575 --> 00:05:44,584 Yet before it joins the active hive, a young bee cleans its own brood chamber to make room for the next generation of young. 47 00:05:45,585 --> 00:06:00,602 Soon the new worker bees begin the task of finding sweet nectar and pollen, on which the entire hive depends for survival. 48 00:06:01,603 --> 00:06:10,613 On returning to the hive, workers perform an intricate dance, which communicates to other bees the exact location of a new found food source. 49 00:06:14,617 --> 00:06:20,624 It is not long before a group of workers has found the spot and begun the delicate work of collecting food. 50 00:06:23,627 --> 00:06:32,637 In a way not yet fully understood, bees can actually remember the exact location and time of day at which a certain flower produces nectar. 51 00:06:33,639 --> 00:06:40,646 On returning to the hive, no worker gains easy admittance. 52 00:06:41,647 --> 00:06:48,655 It must first pass the scrutiny of a guard bee, a specialized worker who is constantly on the alert for unwanted visitors. 53 00:06:52,660 --> 00:06:59,668 Once inside, nectar is given to another worker. Later it will be transformed to honey and stored. 54 00:07:00,669 --> 00:07:05,674 About once a year, the population of a hive begins to exceed its limits. 55 00:07:06,676 --> 00:07:09,679 The workers make preparations to produce a new queen. 56 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:17,688 Meanwhile, at least half the colony gathers around the reigning queen. It is a phenomenon known as swarming. 57 00:07:18,689 --> 00:07:24,696 Suddenly, the swarm leaves the hive. They fly away and find a new place to live. 58 00:07:30,702 --> 00:07:42,716 The bees common in the United States are derived from the Italian honey bee, which was deliberately introduced here. 59 00:07:49,724 --> 00:07:55,730 In Africa, there are also honey bees. In most ways, they are like the bees in North America. 60 00:07:56,732 --> 00:08:03,739 Yet in some respects, they are very different. Thousands of years of evolution in a harsh environment has made them a nervous, nomadic race. 61 00:08:04,741 --> 00:08:12,749 They breed much faster and swarm more often than other bees. They also work longer, carry more nectar, and produce more honey. 62 00:08:13,751 --> 00:08:27,766 Their unpredictable habitat, where sudden brush fires are common and predators in search of sweet honey are numerous, has given these bees a temperamental disposition. 63 00:08:28,767 --> 00:08:38,779 They live on constant alert, a sudden movement, a dark color. Even the smell of carbon dioxide from the breath of a predator can send them into a stinging frenzy. 64 00:08:39,780 --> 00:08:45,786 Their alarm odors will draw every nearby colony to join the attack in a common defense of the hives. 65 00:08:48,790 --> 00:08:58,801 In 1956 at the University of São Paulo, this man, Dr. Woowick Kerr, imported 26 hives of pure African bees to Brazil. 66 00:08:59,802 --> 00:09:17,822 His purpose was to try to breed the perfect honey bee, a kind of super bee which combined the hard-working, high honey-producing aspects of the African bee with the docile characteristics of the European bee. 67 00:09:18,823 --> 00:09:31,838 The African bees were prevented from escaping by queen excluders, metal grills that allow workers to pass through but keep the larger queen inside the hive. 68 00:09:34,841 --> 00:09:39,847 Bee experts from around the world frequently come to the University of São Paulo. 69 00:09:40,848 --> 00:09:57,867 In 1957, a visiting beekeeper mistakenly removed the queen excluders from all of the African hives. The accident occurred at a time when the hives were ready to swarm. 70 00:09:58,868 --> 00:10:07,878 With nothing to stop them, the African queens and their colonies easily escaped into the wild. 71 00:10:12,884 --> 00:10:17,890 Hundreds of thousands of pure, aggressive African bees swarmed into the countryside. 72 00:10:20,893 --> 00:10:24,897 They quickly established wild colonies and continued to breed. 73 00:10:25,899 --> 00:10:33,908 Though no one suspected it at the time, the accidental escape of the African bees was the prelude to disaster. 74 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:50,927 The dangerous African bees had been released into an ideal environment. Highly aggressive, they met little competition. 75 00:10:51,928 --> 00:10:57,934 Often they marauded native hives, killing the bees, robbing honey and taking over their homes. 76 00:11:00,938 --> 00:11:09,948 They multiplied at an astonishing rate and established colonies nearly everywhere, in trees, under tile roofs, in the ground, in abandoned cars. 77 00:11:10,949 --> 00:11:17,957 Once gentle hives suddenly turned dangerous, the sensitive, easily disturbed killer bees were taking over. 78 00:11:18,958 --> 00:11:22,962 Cows and other farm animals were attacked. Thousands had been killed. 79 00:11:23,964 --> 00:11:27,968 Vibrations from tractors and other equipment caused savage attacks on many farmers. 80 00:11:28,969 --> 00:11:34,976 At the church of Santa Barbara in Niteroi, a wild swarm swooped inside during mass, stinging the congregation. 81 00:11:35,977 --> 00:11:42,985 In 1973, firemen used flamethrowers to destroy a wild swarm which had attacked over 300 people in a funeral service. 82 00:11:43,986 --> 00:11:45,988 A handful of dirt thrown at them triggered the attack. 83 00:11:46,989 --> 00:11:52,996 On several occasions, the commotion of a soccer game has caused bees to launch mass stinging attacks on players and spectators. 84 00:11:54,998 --> 00:12:05,010 In 1974, in Recife, Brazil, José Ferreiro was hospitalized after being horribly stung by a swarm of killer bees. Several days later, he died. 85 00:12:07,012 --> 00:12:11,016 In Rio, a wild swarm entered a movie theater, badly stinging the audience. 86 00:12:12,017 --> 00:12:20,026 In Curitiba, an autopsy found 80 bees in this farmer's stomach. Three fishermen barely survived another attack. 87 00:12:23,030 --> 00:12:31,039 Since 1957, thousands of people have been attacked and badly stung by killer bees. At least 300 people have died. 88 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:44,053 Today, at the University of São Paulo, where the bees were set free, scientists are using genetics to try to solve the problem that genetics created. 89 00:12:45,054 --> 00:12:54,064 Using various types of bees, bold and intriguing experiments are being attempted. All are focused on taking the killer instinct out of the killer bee. 90 00:12:56,067 --> 00:12:58,069 One technique is artificial insemination. 91 00:13:02,073 --> 00:13:14,087 Drones, the stingless bees that fertilize the queen, have been collected from special hives. These drones represent an extremely gentle European variety. 92 00:13:15,088 --> 00:13:22,096 One by one, they are carefully removed. Each drone is gently compressed to reveal part of its reproductive system. 93 00:13:23,097 --> 00:13:31,106 With a special micro syringe, drone semen is delicately drawn away. 94 00:13:37,113 --> 00:13:43,119 Meanwhile, an anesthetized killer queen bee is prepared for artificial insemination. 95 00:13:46,123 --> 00:13:50,127 The syringe containing semen from the drone is inched into position. 96 00:13:52,129 --> 00:13:59,137 Slowly, the captive queen is inseminated. Her genetic character is thus deliberately altered by science. 97 00:14:00,138 --> 00:14:10,150 The queen is then introduced into a hive. If the experiment is successful, the queen's eggs will bear a gentler bee. The hive will become less aggressive. 98 00:14:11,151 --> 00:14:20,161 Yet, such experiments have had little impact. 90% of all killer bees live and breed in the wild, completely uncontrolled. 99 00:14:23,164 --> 00:14:30,172 Another attempt to solve the killer bee problem has been to produce mutant bees by exposure to high radiation. 100 00:14:32,174 --> 00:14:39,182 A mutant bee, which is physically unable to sting, has been produced recently. It may offer some hope for the future. 101 00:14:40,183 --> 00:14:48,192 In the movie Savage Bees, Dr. Norman Gerry re-enacted an actual killer bee attack. 102 00:14:59,205 --> 00:15:05,211 The death of a single bee releases a chemical odor that drives a nearby swarm into a killing frenzy. 103 00:15:09,216 --> 00:15:15,223 The bee is then released into the wild and is then released into the wild. 104 00:15:16,224 --> 00:15:22,230 The bee is then released into the wild and is then released into the wild. 105 00:15:24,233 --> 00:15:30,239 The bee is then released into the wild and is then released into the wild. 106 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:37,247 The bee is then released into the wild and is then released into the wild. 107 00:15:39,249 --> 00:15:44,255 The bee is then released into the wild and is then released into the wild. 108 00:15:50,262 --> 00:15:58,271 Since the escape of this bee near Sampalo in 1957, the bees have rapidly migrated throughout most of South America. 109 00:15:59,272 --> 00:16:03,276 They're presently going through the Guyanas and they've just been reported in Venezuela. 110 00:16:03,276 --> 00:16:10,284 Should they continue their northward migration at 200 miles a year, they could reach the U.S. by 1990. 111 00:16:16,291 --> 00:16:23,299 Killer bees could reach the United States much sooner, simply by stowing away on a ship bound for our shores. 112 00:16:24,300 --> 00:16:30,307 In 1972, at Richmond Harbor near San Francisco, a swarm of bees was found aboard a freighter. 113 00:16:30,307 --> 00:16:37,314 Before they spread, they were destroyed. The world's top experts identified them as killer bees. 114 00:16:38,316 --> 00:16:40,318 It turned out later they were mistaken. 115 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:48,327 The problem is that killer bees and the honey bees common in the United States are nearly identical. 116 00:16:52,331 --> 00:16:59,339 As a result of the Richmond Harbor incident, a sophisticated technique to identify killer bees was invented. 117 00:17:00,340 --> 00:17:05,346 Wings and other body parts of suspect bees are carefully dissected. 118 00:17:14,356 --> 00:17:20,363 The parts are then projected. 25 specific features are precisely measured and recorded. 119 00:17:21,364 --> 00:17:27,370 The information is fed into a computer for analysis and an answer. It is the only way known to distinguish a normal bee from a killer. 120 00:17:36,381 --> 00:17:40,385 When the killer arrives here, there may be an additional impact. 121 00:17:41,386 --> 00:17:46,392 Every year, honey bees are used to pollinate billions of dollars worth of agricultural crops. 122 00:17:46,392 --> 00:17:50,396 The aggressive, hard to handle killer bee could make this impossible. 123 00:17:51,397 --> 00:17:56,403 The killer bee now predominates in most of South America, and it's spreading fast, quickly liquidating the few docile colonies that remain. 124 00:17:58,405 --> 00:18:05,413 This year, Dr. Gary visited the University of San Paulo. One of his objectives was to attempt again a test of the killer bee's aggressiveness. 125 00:18:17,427 --> 00:18:22,432 Viewed through an electron microscope, a bee's stinger is clearly a formidable weapon. 126 00:18:23,433 --> 00:18:32,443 It is not a single needle, but a three-pronged drill. The main shaft pierces the victim, while two jagged arms alternately stab downward, pumping venom. 127 00:18:33,444 --> 00:18:37,449 The venom is contained in a large sack above the sharp sting apparatus. 128 00:18:38,450 --> 00:18:44,457 Once inserted, the stinger will keep working until all the venom is pumped in. 129 00:18:51,465 --> 00:18:57,471 Wearing a special protective suit, Dr. Gary began the test. All that was required to arouse the bees was to dangle a black leather patch at the hive entrance. 130 00:18:58,472 --> 00:19:05,480 Killer bees react violently to black. The second patch on Dr. Gary's chest may be a little bit more dangerous than the other. 131 00:19:07,483 --> 00:19:09,485 Dr. Gary measures the intensity of the attack. 132 00:19:37,516 --> 00:19:44,524 Now there must be three or four hundred stings in my leather patch. I can actually feel them halting my leather gloves. 133 00:19:45,525 --> 00:19:50,531 They are coming out with such, such activity. It's amazing. I actually feel the bees hitting me. 134 00:19:51,532 --> 00:19:54,535 I made it about the same number of bees around the big camera. 135 00:19:56,538 --> 00:20:00,542 There's only one sting at this point that concerns me, and that's the one in my arm. 136 00:20:00,542 --> 00:20:12,555 I would estimate that the cameras themselves have at least 100, maybe 200 bees on there. First they can't sting the camera. 137 00:20:13,557 --> 00:20:21,566 Even as Dr. Gary left the hive area, the bees persisted in their attack. Killer bees will pursue a victim great distances, stinging all the way. 138 00:20:22,567 --> 00:20:27,572 Killer bees don't calm down easily. They remember their anger for as long as 24 hours. 139 00:20:31,577 --> 00:20:42,589 Long after the experiment was over, 500 yards away from the hives, even smoke would not stop numerous bees from continuing their attack. 140 00:20:48,596 --> 00:20:55,604 Killer bees are unlike any honeybee that we have known. Unless stopped, they will live up to their name. 141 00:20:56,605 --> 00:21:01,610 Steadily, millions of killer bees are swarming northward toward the United States. 142 00:21:02,611 --> 00:21:05,615 Scientists have suggested various ways to stem the bees' advance. 143 00:21:06,616 --> 00:21:14,625 Everything from introducing armies of docile drones that might dilute their aggressiveness to building a giant bee net at the Panama Canal. 144 00:21:15,626 --> 00:21:17,628 So far, nothing has been done. 145 00:21:18,629 --> 00:21:24,636 When the killer bees will arrive and exactly how they will behave when they get here, we don't know. 146 00:21:25,637 --> 00:21:30,643 For now, there seems to be little we can do, but watch and wait. 147 00:21:55,671 --> 00:22:00,677 The American's Heroes and Villains at 8, here on the History Channel, where the past comes alive.