State officials have discovered more Africanized bees in South Georgia. The Georgia Department of Agriculture has found and destroyed two additional colonies.

Back in October a South Georgia man died after being attacked by the aggressive insects. Since then the state has trapped and tested several bees. They destroyed two colonies near the site of the attack.

UGA Entomologist Keith Delaplane says now that the bees are here people need to know what to do if they encounter them.

“What they need to do is run. They don’t run. They stand and swat and so what we try to do is plant the idea if you run into a nest of stinging insects like that you’ve got to linearly run away.”

Delaplane says the bees will still pollinate and produce honey but will also interbreed with the common European honey bee. State officials hope beekeepers can help control the population by maintaining healthy hives of European bees.

Tags: Dougherty County, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Africanized Bees