Africanized Honey Bee

Natural history and identification

Apis mellifera scutellata is an African honey-bee subspecies. “Africanized honey bee” usually refers to hybrid populations with ancestry from this subspecies, rather than a separate species. Identification and biosecurity records must preserve that distinction. This entry is for recognition and surveillance; it must not turn a regional risk into an assertion that Africanized bees are established on Kauaʻi.

Kauaʻi occurrence and evidence

Atlas occurrence category: Not detected — port prevention target. The Kauaʻi record is classified as “Not detected — port prevention target”. Its cited evidence source is Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee. Not known to be established in Hawaiʻi. KISC monitors Līhuʻe Airport and Nāwiliwili Harbor for this bee; the Atlas status must not be read as a Kauaʻi occurrence record.

Account coverage

Published species details have been added. A complete Kauaʻi-specific account of identification, habitat, feeding, reproduction, and population trend is not yet established by the sources linked here.

Names and classification

Scientific name

Apis mellifera scutellata

Common names

Africanized Honey Bee

Family

Apidae

Order

Hymenoptera

Record type

species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence

Not detected — port prevention target

Origin

Invasive threat

Conservation status

Biosecurity watchlist

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal description

Africanized honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata) is not known to be established on Kauaʻi. It is included as a prevention target because Kauaʻi port-monitoring teams actively watch for its arrival.

Sources and further reading

• Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee
• Natural history and identification — species source