Curtis Davis was stung hundreds of times when his bulldozer hit an old wooden porch post where the bees had built a giant hive. The insects swarmed him.
Georgia Agriculture Commission Tommy Irvin said Thursday that tests showed the insects were a hybrid of African and European honeybees, sometimes called "killer bees." The bees are extremely defensive, swarm in greater numbers than typical European honeybees and sting with little provocation.
Irvin said the bees spread from Central America and first appeared in Texas in 1990. They have gradually spread to other states. State officials said they will continue trapping and monitoring bee swarms to identify Africanized honeybees.