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A steel-and-fiberglass sculpture of an Africanized honey bee, about 10 by 20 feet (not counting the antennae) and 2,000 pounds, stands in front of city hall in Hidalgo, Texas. The city commissioned it after the bees' first documented US colony appeared nearby in 1990.
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World's Largest Killer Bee
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Site-level location · 26.1004° N, 98.2630° W
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The story
When Africanized honey bees, popularly called killer bees, reached the United States in 1990, Hidalgo, Texas, answered with a monument. According to Texas Monthly, the hybrids established their first documented US colony just outside the town that year, and municipal leaders turned a possible public-relations problem into a title: Killer Bee Capital of the World.
Texas Highways reported in 2021 that the Chamber of Commerce put the idea to then-mayor John Franz, and that the city commissioned the sculpture for $20,000 from Jerome Vettrus of Sparta, Wisconsin. It describes a steel form under a fiberglass exoskeleton, about 10 feet tall and 20 feet long not counting the antennae. Texas Monthly gives the weight as some 2,000 pounds.
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A large steel-and-fiberglass bee sits in front of Hidalgo city hall, according to Texas Monthly in January 2026. Texas Highways reported in 2021 that it also appears at Borderfest each year.
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In front of city hall in Hidalgo, Texas, according to Texas Monthly in January 2026. Texas Highways reported in 2021 that the sculpture is also taken to the town's Borderfest.
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