africanized

HOW EVEN WILDLIFE IS WEAPONISED AGAINST A LONG SCAPEGOATED CONTINENT.

Have you ever heard of the term “Africanized Killer Bee”? If you’re American (specifically of the Southern US), you probably have. The term refers to a hybrid bee species derived from the European Honey Bee and the East African Lowland Honey Bee. The African species was brought over and introduced to the Americas in order to produce higher yields of honey. Some of the hybrid colonies broke free and let loose on the North American continent.

Americans soon learned that the African bees would defend their hives with more potency than European honey bees - swarms would sting more, for longer and chase targets over greater distances (which is what they are supposed to do btw). This is a familiar example of western capitalistic pressure putting its public at risk and blaming a scapegoat when it all goes tits up. And when it’s all said and done, Africans that feel the brunt of that blow.

When we zoom out of the bees and take a look at wider ecology, specifically in the global “west”, we can find many examples of species that have been hybridised and made to be more aggressive but their traits are never racialised or attributed to the land of the introduced species in the same way the bees’ are. This shows how scientific communication and culture can reinforce racial stereotypes.

We put a list of animals together that were also hybridised but never got the same treatment of the African species to highlight the differences in treatment.

FIVE HYBRID ANIMALS THAT ESCAPED THE ‘AFRICANIZED’ TREATMENT:

MOSQUITO

London Underground tunnels created a new ecological niche where mosquito populations adapted to human only environments. Over time, forms that once fed exclusively on birds mixed with human biting populations, raising concerns about disease transmission. Known simply as the ‘London Underground Mosquito’ a curiosity of infrastructure, not a threat tied to people or place. 

Japanese sika deer were introduced to Britain for ornamental estates and elite hunting, a leisure decision rooted in empire and land ownership. Hybrising with native red deer they threaten genetic integrity and altering behaviour across large landscapes. The issue is described as “hybridisation” or “introgression,” language that neatly sidesteps blame or cultural framing. 

Settlers wiped out wolves in Eastern America, Coyotes moved in and interbred with remnant wolves and domestic dogs. The result is a larger, bolder, hybrid animal better adapted to human dominated landscapes, including towns and suburbs. The name ‘coywolf’ is catchy, even playful, but it carries none of the geographical or racial anxiety reserved for other hybrids. 

Red and black imported fire ants arrived in the southern US through global cargo trade from South America, a byproduct of American commercial expansion. they hybridised and are hard to control due to cold tolerance, multi queen super colonies, and the ability to recolonise after floods by forming floating rafts. They’re referred to clinically as “imported fire ants” or “hybrid populations,” never framed as a cultural threat tied to where they came from. 

Ruddy Ducks escaped from captivity in the UK and spread across Europe, interbreeding with the endangered white headed duck. The hybridisation posed such a serious threat that internal culling programmes were introduced to prevent genetic extinction. Even then, the ducks were never framed as monstrous or invasive villains, just a “management problem” born of human error.