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Thirteen states are invaded by terrifying killer bees that swarm by the hundreds and chase cars for miles
Terrifying killer bees are spreading northward in the US, researchers fear.
The Africanized honey bee, normally found in southern Africa, is far more aggressive than the European honey bee, the most common in the US.
Nicknamed the killer bee, the insects attack in 'clouds' and can sting victims thousands of times.
They attack when their hive is disturbed, or in response to loud noises, such as a tree-trimmer or lawn-mower — even when it is a few blocks away.
Once on the loose, the bees can chase their target for up to a mile and experts say victims have little option other than to run.
In the past three months, the bees have killed one man and three horses in Texas and hospitalized at least six people — including three tree-trimmers in Texas and three hikers in Arizona who had to run a mile from the 'biggest cloud of bees I have ever seen'.
Arriving in the US in the 1990s after escaping from farms in Brazil, the bees are already present in 13 states — including Florida, Utah and California.
But experts now fear that warmer temperatures will allow the deadly insects to advance further north up the east and west coasts — putting tens of millions more Americans at risk.
Dr Juliana Rangel, a bee expert in Texas who has been chased by the bees herself, warned: 'By 2050 or so, with increasing temperatures, we're going to see northward movement, mostly in the western half of the country.'
And more of the US is at risk.
A previous study found that the bees could easily advance into southeastern Oregon and the western Great Plains — attracted by the more arid climate similar to their native range.
And researchers also fear that the bees could advance into the Southern Appalachian Mountains within the next few years.
The bee is visually similar to the European honey bee, a docile and familiar bee in the US, but is much more aggressive.
Bee stings contain the toxin melittin, which can cause cells to burst and trigger massive inflammation in large quantities, potentially leading to organ failure and death.
While Africanized bees' venom is no more potent than the European honey bee — and the bee still dies after stinging — the aggressive species is far more likely to sting and much more likely to attack in large numbers.
Swarms of the Africanized honey bees can sting someone thousands of times.
In 2022, a 20-year-old man was reportedly stung 20,000 times and ingested 30 bees after he was attacked by a swarm while cutting tree branches near a nest. He was hospitalized but survived.
The Africanized honey bee reached the US after spreading up from Brazil, where it was introduced in the 1950s in an attempt to boost honey production.
It is now present in 13 US states: California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
But colonies keep being detected further north, including in several more northerly Alabama counties last year and in previously in states like South Carolina and the Bay Area in California.
The insects generally prefer arid or semi-arid conditions similar to their native areas, but avoid areas that have cold winters or high levels of rain.
Comparing the two types of bees, Dr Jamie Ellis, an entomologist in Florida who studies the insects, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal: 'If I'm working around one of my European honey bee colonies and I knock on it with a hammer, it might send out five to 10 individuals to see what's going on.
'They would follow me perhaps as far as my house and I might get stung once.
'If I did the same thing with an Africanized colony, I might get 50 to 100 individuals who would follow me much farther and I'd get more stings. It's really an issue of scale.'
Dr Rangel added that the bees are much more sensitive to sound, saying: 'You could be mowing a lawn a few houses away and just the vibrations will set them off.
'In Texas, every year there's at least four big [Africanized bee] attacks that make the news.'
She added: 'They can pursue you in your vehicle for a mile. The only thing preventing them from killing you is the [bee suit]. It's like a cloud of bees that all wants to sting you. It's scary.'
Officials in Tennessee warn people to avoid all wild colonies of bees and to report any that they find to their county for monitoring.
If someone is attacked by the bees, officials in most states advise people to 'run away quickly'.
The above map, published in 2020, shows the range of the bees and areas that have a suitable habitat for the species
While running, they say people should pull their shirt up over their head to protect the face, but make sure this doesn't slow their progress.
Someone should only stop running when they reach closed shelter like a building or vehicle. It is likely that some bees will enter with them, experts say, but most will be locked outside.
People are advised not to swat the bees or flail their arms, because this could antagonize them and lead to a worse attack.
The Africanized honey bee is a hybrid made by mixing the European honey bee with the East African lowland honey bee.
The aim was to create a bee that produced more honey, but 26 swarms escaped quarantine in 1957 and have since spread through South America and into the US.
