Understanding Africanized honey bees: Facts and safety precautions.

Africanized honey bees, often referred to as "killer bees," are a hybrid species that originated in Brazil and have spread to 13 states in the southern and southwestern U.S. Their aggressive nature and tendency to swarm pose significant risks, prompting homeowners to seek professional removal if a colony is found nearby. These bees, which entered the U.S. through Texas in the 1990s, are more defensive and breed more frequently than native bees, although their venom is no more potent than that of European honey bees.