Africanized bee
noun
: a honeybee that originated in Brazil as an accidental hybrid between an aggressive African subspecies (Apis mellifera scutellata) and previously established European honeybees and has spread to Mexico and the southernmost U.S. by breeding with local bees producing populations retaining most of the African bee's traits
called also Africanized honeybee, killer bee
Examples of Africanized bee in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What differentiates Africanized bees from Western honeybees is the number of bees a colony sends out to attack.
—
Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 6 July 2025
By the early 1990s Africanized bees began showing up in the southern U.S. and have now been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 22 May 2025
That's unlikely with Western honey bees, but can happen with Africanized bees.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 23 June 2025
By the early 1990s Africanized bees began showing up in the southern United States and have now been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 16 May 2025
Bees in Southern California, originally from Europe, started crossbreeding with Africanized bees in the 1990s, said Orange County beekeeper Mike Henderson.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024
Scientists typically refer to them as Africanized bees because the swarm was initiated by Apis mellifera scutellata, an African subspecies of the European honeybee imported to Brazil from South Africa and Tanzania in 1956 to introduce their heat tolerance genes.
—Richard Pallardy, Ars Technica, 30 July 2024
Florida is considered an Africanized bee state.
—Christine Sexton, sun-sentinel.com, 11 Aug. 2021
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Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 6 July 2025
By the early 1990s Africanized bees began showing up in the southern U.S. and have now been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 22 May 2025
That's unlikely with Western honey bees, but can happen with Africanized bees.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 23 June 2025
By the early 1990s Africanized bees began showing up in the southern United States and have now been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 16 May 2025
Bees in Southern California, originally from Europe, started crossbreeding with Africanized bees in the 1990s, said Orange County beekeeper Mike Henderson.
—Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2024
Scientists typically refer to them as Africanized bees because the swarm was initiated by Apis mellifera scutellata, an African subspecies of the European honeybee imported to Brazil from South Africa and Tanzania in 1956 to introduce their heat tolerance genes.
—Richard Pallardy, Ars Technica, 30 July 2024
Florida is considered an Africanized bee state.
—Christine Sexton, sun-sentinel.com, 11 Aug. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Africanized bee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Africanized%20bee. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
Africanized bee
noun
Af·ri·can·ized bee
ˌaf-ri-kə-ˌnīzd- 
: a honeybee that originated in Brazil as an accidental hybrid between an aggressive African subspecies (Apis mellifera scutellata) and previously established European honeybees and has spread to Mexico and the southernmost United States by breeding with local bees producing populations retaining most of the African bee's traits
called also Africanized honeybee, killer bee
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