Defensive honey bees are any bees from a colony or swarm that exhibit behavior that may jeopardize public safety. Defensive honey bee behaviors include, but are not limited to, characteristics of Apis mellifera scutellata (African honey bee subspecies) such as:

• Guarding a larger territorial perimeter around the hive in greater numbers than is typical of Apis mellifera.
• Responding to minimal or no known provocation into high defensiveness, unpredictability, high reactivity or agitation for a prolonged period of time.  

There are several African honey bee subspecies, most of which are gentle. The only way to tell if honey bees have Apis mellifera scutellata genetics is by laboratory analysis. Disturbances even more than 100 feet away can elicit highly defensive responses in scutellata hybrids. Several hundred highly defensive bees are deployed for prolonged periods of time which presents a hazard to public safety.

Honey bees foraging on flowering vegetation is considered normal and desirable. 

• Defensive Honey Bees: What are they and how should you react to them? UCSD PSA
• BEE Alert: Africanized Honey Bee Facts
• University of Florida Extension: Differences between European and African honey bees
• Being Prepared for Africanized Honey Bees: An overview for the United States
• USDA Agricultural Research Service: Africanized Honey Bees