Here Come the Killer Bees

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9 The accidental release of African queen bees and drones into Brazil in 1957 resulted in an ecological disaster that still haunts scientists in the Western Hemisphere. Pringle presents a lucid, well organized and well researched examination of a subject that captured media attention even before swarms of the ferocious species were discovered in California last year. He describes some of the horrific encounters between humans and the ``killer'' bees within the last few decades, discusses their aggressive behavioral characteristics, explains their detrimental effect on South American honey production, speculates on what consequences their imminent invasion of the U.S. may have on our agricultural industries, and describes plans scientists are developing to tame them. Twenty-one black-and-white photographs adequately illustrate the text, the best and sharpest being the half dozen or so close-ups of the bees themselves. A list of precautions to take in areas where bees do settle is included. As most current books on bees focus on European species (Fischer-Nagel's Life of the Honeybee Carolrhoda, 1986, O'Toole's Discovering Bees & Wasps Bookwright, 1986), this timely title should help fill a gap in science collections. Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library