Aggressive African bees dominating in Fla.

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Up to 80 percent of the wild bee population of South Florida has been hybridized by an aggressive African bee strain, experts say.

Experts said since the first reported sighting of African bees in Tampa, Fla., seven years ago, the insects have been slowly invading domestic bee colonies and reproducing at an alarming rate, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Sunday.

The increase of Africanized bees in the area has resulted in multiple bee attacks, including one last April in Okeechobee County in which Robert Davis, 51, died after being stung more than 100 times by the hybrid bees.

In October, 70-year-old Nancy Hill of Riviera Beach, Fla., was hospitalized and her two dogs were killed in a bee attack that also killed a third dog and left a fourth injured.

Urban entomologist Bill Kern told the Sun-Sentinel the Africanized bees' reproductive rates and sensitive nature indicate similar attacks are likely to occur in the South Florida in the future.

"Something as simple as a squirrel running across the branch nearby -- that can set them off," the University of Florida researcher said.