Colony Defense

Abstract

Intra- and interracial variations in colony defense and/or aggressiveness span an extraordinary range. As succinctly noted by Villières (1987a,b), the unprovoked aggressiveness of adansonii is no myth. Nor indeed was a heap of five oxen stung to death by scutellata in Botswana (Edmunds 1931). Or, as noted in the Levantine, syriaca is notorious for its bad temper, but compared to adansonii they are like harmless butterflies (Peled 1971). Similar observations were made after the introduction of scutellata in South America (Kempff Mercado 1973). On the other hand, such bees as capensis, monticola, and sahariensis can easily be worked without protective clothing and even with little or no smoke. Yet for all of the African honeybee races only three generalisations about defensiveness emerge. Whatever the perceived average level of aggressiveness for a race, each includes both very aggressive colonies and very docile ones, even in the same apiary. Secondly, whatever the race, large, populous colonies are more aggressive and effective at nest defense than smaller ones. Finally, in any event, there is a high degree of unpredictability that has thus far frustrated a clear-cut ethological analysis.