DNA Test Used to Track Africanized Bees

The progress of Africanized "killer bees" across California is being tracked by researchers from the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Davis. A genetic test developed at UC Davis allows scientists to distinguish Africanized bees from those naturally present in California, according to entomologist Robert Page, department chairman. "These are not fun bees," says Page. In this year's survey, conducted in late summer, Africanized bees were not found in any new locations north of Ventura or Kern counties. In 1991, Page and his coworkers surveyed wild bees throughout California. Genetic analysis showed that some bees carried a genetic type that could not be distinguished from the African variety, although at that time Africanized bees were not present in California. The marker is carried on mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only through the queen bee. Working with researchers in Mexico, Page's lab was able to develop a DNA fingerprinting test to distinguish these varieties. "We now have a test for distinguishing the "European" or "Egyptian" varieties from the Africanized bees that is quick, easy and definitive in California," says Page. "In every case where we have Africanized bees, we find this mitotype." Page's laboratory conducts an annual field survey to look at the spread of the African genotypes into California. Tracking the spread of Africanized wild bees is important for the beekeeping industry, because wild bees can mate with queens from commercial hives, making beekeeping more dangerous and more expensive. Details of the improved test were published earlier this year in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America. The test is also used by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to check wild bee colonies reported by county authorities.