Africanized honey bees in urban environments: A spatio-temporal analysis

For honey bees in the desert southwest, urban environments may provide abundant cavities and a more spatially and temporally continuous supply of nectar, pollen and water than would be available in surrounding natural desert areas. The presence of abundant cavities and food resources in urban environments places honey bees in close proximity to humans, creating concerns over public health and safety, particularly in areas dominated by Africanized honey bees. Africanized honey bee colonies are abundant in the greater Tucson metropolitan area, and requests for colony and swarm removals increased from 14 in 1994 to 1613 in 2001. We obtained invoices with data on honey bee colony and swarm removals from 1994 to 2001 from a private company in Tucson, Arizona, which specializes in the removal and control of Africanized honey bees. We evaluated spatio-temporal patterns in the distribution of Africanized honey bee colonies and swarms and evaluated the role of precipitation in generating the observed patterns. Colonies and swarms showed a shift from no spatio-temporal clustering in the initial years following the arrival of Africanized honey bees to significant spatio-temporal clustering in later years. Precipitation was a good predictor of honey bee abundance, with more colony and swarm removals following wet seasons and fewer following dry seasons. These patterns suggest the greatest likelihood of human–honey bee interactions in urban areas in the desert southwest will occur with high honey bee abundances following wet winters.