Interviews by Floris Elementary Students Cougar, the Killer Bee
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Freddy:
Hello, today on Freddy Talk we are going
to slash through the bee hive and have a chat with a special
guest. Cougar. the killer bee. Let's cut right to the
chase. the question the people want to know is - do
you kill humans? Freddy: Why are you called killer bees? Cougar:
We are called killer bees because we have
killed some animals. We do this by teamwork. The whole
colony, when provoked, can kill a cow in 5 minuets! If you
donít want to provoke us stay 100 meters away when
using machinery of playing interments and don't try to shot
or destroy our nest. Besides that, we wont harm
you. Cougar: That is just a myth. We actually eat honey and nectar like our neighbor the honey bee. Like I said before, if we sting something we will die. Freddy: Tell me a little about yourself. Cougar: Well ,only my friends call me Cougar, my other nick name is Africanized Honey Bee but my real name is Apismellifera Scutellata , you can call me Cougar. My antennae are important sensory organs that can move freely. Through my compound eyes I can't see red or depth but I can movement very well. My stinger is located at the end of my abdomen next to my pocket of venom. The average worker bee hatches from egg in three days. Then we are feed delicious royal jelly for 2.5 days. then the diet is changed to normal nectar and honey for 2.5 days. sealed in a cell for 12 days in witch they spin a cocoon. Then we transform from larva to pupae. After only 20 days since they hatched from they emerge as adult bees. Freddy: Where, exactly did you come from? Cougar: We were created when a lab forced two different kinds of bees - The African bees and European honey bees of North and South America to regenerate. A geneticist had an idea of creating a superior honey bee more suited to tropical conditions. We were accidentally released into Brazil in 1956. Ever since we have been moving closer to the U.S. In 1990 a few of our colonies were found in Texas and 1990 along the Arizona border. Freddy: Where are you currently working? Cougar:
Well, Iím still working as a
worker in the colony. My job is to find nectar and bring it
back to the colonies. One of the perks of the job is that I
pollinate other flowers and can create new spices of
flowers. Other jobs in the colony is the drone but there job
is just to regenerate with a female bee. Another job is the
soldier bee but I don't like battling so I guess worker fits
me just fine. |