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ARCHIVE: 1996 AHB NEWS REPORTED IN THE MEDIA

(This list is not comprehensive; news headlines are capitalized; introductions are italicized)

Las Cruces, NM - ELDERLY MAN STUNG HUNDRED OF TIMES BY BEES -- An 85 year-old man stung up to 300 times by a swarm of bees is lucky to be alive, an expert says.(AP, 9/19/96).

Tucson, AZ - BEES STING MAN 100 TIMES IN ATTACK AFTER SPRAYING -- An 88 year-old man was stung 100 times yesterday after spraying them with an insecticide outside his home. (John F. Rawlinson, The Arizona Daily Star, 9/19/96).

Big Lake, TX - A 24 YEAR-OLD MAN SURVIVES 129 STINGS IN BEE ATTACK -- (AP, 9/11/96; Scott Stanford, The San Angelo Standard-Times, 9/13/96).

Las Cruces, NM - KILLER BEES SPREADING -- An unusually wet summer sped the migration of Africanized bees throughout southern New Mexico (USA Today, 9/11/96).

Marana, Az - FAMILY MISTAKES FOAM FOR SNOW AND GETS STUNG -- The Northwest Fire District responded to a call to kill bees that were attacking people in Marana. All the bees at the site, in a tree and on the ground, were sprayed with foam to smother them. Firefighters then left the scene to respond to another bee attack and did not stay to spray the foam away, as is their standard procedure. A family driving along later mistook white foam on the ground for snow or ice and allowed their child to play in it. The child and his parents were promptly attacked by the bees in the foam. The firefighters were radioed back to the site to help the parents and child. Firefighters foamed the area again and pulled the couple's van out of the foam and mud. The family could not push themselves out because of the stinging bees outside the vehicle. The family was treated at the scene for bee stings but refused further treatment and drove off. (John F. Rawlinson, The Arizona Daily Star, 9/6/96)

Tucson, AZ - AS MITES KILL OFF WILD HONEY BEES, "KILLERS" APPEAR -- A researcher has reported colonies of Africanized bees are replacing wild domestic colonies of European honey bees which have died because of tracheal and varroa mite infestation. Feral colonies are more and more Africanized. (Jim Erickson, The Arizona Daily Star, 6/23/96).

Tucson, AZ - PIT BULL DIES OF NEARLY 2,000 STINGS; KILLER BEES BLAMED -- A 2 year-old pit bull died after being stung 1,500 to 2,000 times in Tucson. In this article the author also reported:
* A 3 month-old puppy died after being stung 400 to 500 times by Africanized bees in Tucson the previous March
* Two large pet geese, one pet duck and three pet pigeons were stung to death two days earlier (Wednesday, 6/12/96) in Tucson. Each goose was stung several hundred times. (Jim Erickson, The Arizona Daily Star, 6/14/96)

Rosenberg, TX - FOUR ATTACKED BY BEES -- Two men and two women were attacked by bees while clearing brush in Rosenburg, Texas. (The Houston Chronicle, 6/8/96)

Brownsville, TX - BEE ATTACK PROBED -- Twenty students, three health care workers, two maintenance men, one security guard and one teacher were stung in their faces, arms and legs at Hanna High School on Monday (5/13/96) while students were having lunch outside the school under a tree. (The Houston Chronicle, 5/14/96)

San Jose, Costa Rica - KILLER BEES KILL 1, INJURE 5 IN COSTA RICA -- Africanized bees attacked a group of farmers in Santa Anna, Costa Rica, killing one man and injuring five others. (Reuters, 3/23/96)

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