Russell Wright, head of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at OSU, says DNA tests conducted on the bees show they have Africanized traits.
''They certainly are more Africanized than European,'' Wright said.
Wright said the bees have been sent to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Laboratory in Arizona for final confirmation. Those results are expected to take three to four weeks.
''We can't say for sure yet,'' Wright said. ''All we're saying is that we might have Africanized bees in Oklahoma.''
Wright says if the Africanized bees, commonly called ''killer bees,'' are confirmed in Oklahoma, it will be the furthest north they have traveled in the United States.
The bees were discovered when a work crew cut through the limb of a storm-damaged tree in Tipton in southwest Oklahoma.
Jeff Marshall, a Tipton city worker, said he never saw any bees until the limb fell to the ground.
''Then they were everywhere,'' Marshall said. ''We all ran different directions to the vehicles, and they followed us. There were just so many of them.''
Marshall said he had between 35 and 40 stings.
Seven members of the work crew, which included Tillman County employees, were treated at an area hospital following the attack, said Tillman County Commissioner Leon Wright.
''There were more than that that were stung, but we had to send seven to the hospital,'' Leon Wright said. ''Most of them had anywhere from 50 to 75 or 80 stings.''
Leon Wright said one worker, Wes Marshall, was hospitalized overnight after suffering close to 80 stings.
''They were keeping him for observation,'' Leon Wright said. ''His blood pressure got pretty high. ''
Wright, who was at the job site when the bees started to attack, said he managed to avoid getting stung.
''I ran like hell,'' Wright said. ''I had one that came close to me, and I kept running. It was a pretty scary deal.''
Similar to common honey bees but dangerously aggressive, Africanized honey bees have been detected in New Mexico, Texas, California, Nevada and Arizona.
The Africanized bees were first brought to Brazil from South Africa in the late 1950s for a crossbreeding program. In 1957, some of the bees accidentally were let loose. In the United States, they were first found in Texas in 1990 and southeastern Arizona in June 1993.
The venom of Africanized bees is no more toxic than the European honeybee, Russell Wright said. They are more dangerous, however, because typically, more bees will attack.
''When they sting, they give off an odor or a pheromone that attracts other bees,'' he said, ''and they will follow you a long way.''
He suggests if someone thinks bees are particularly aggressive, they should run away from them as quickly as possible.
''The best thing you can do is get away from them, get into a building, house, barn or car. Most of them won't follow you into a building.''
Human deaths after Africanized honeybee stings have been recorded in Texas and Arizona, although Wright said such reports are rare.
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