Buenos Aires, Argentina --- DOG SAVES CHILD FROM BEES, DIES FROM STINGS --- A dog saved his four-year-old master from a swarm of bees by covering him with his body, and then died from the stings, Argentine police said Wednesday. Kharin Toloza was playing with his dog Chocolate in Valle Viejo, northwestern Argentina, when he was attacked by the insects, local police told the state-run Telam news agency. The dog jumped and stayed on top of the boy, who was taken to hospital but was declared out of danger after receiving just a few stings. The dog died. (Reuters, 12/22/99).

Pomona, CA --- POMONA BOY STUNG BY BEES --- A 14-year-old Pomona boy is recuperating at home after he was stung 40 times by an angry swarm of bees. Apparently the boy had disturbed the bees' hive. The teen was treated and released from Pomona Valley Hospital. His mother and a man who tried to help were also stung during the attack. Authorities have yet to determine if the bees were the Africanized variety. (ABC NewsWire, 12/6/99).

Salt Lake City, UT --- YES THE BEES ARE COMING. NO, DON'T PANIC YET --- For years, Africanized bees got little respect. These little critters were the subject of tabloid stories, television documentaries and, excuse the pun, B-grade disaster movies. Though their origin is the stuff of monster movies (they somehow escaped a lab in Brazil in 1957), "killer" bees are not "mutants" or the result of rogue scientific experiments. They simply are the way nature intended them. The gentler European honeybees used to be just as aggressive and ornery as Africanized bees, it's just that humans tamed them for honey production and pollinization. "The Europeans bred their bees for centuries to be gentle," said Eric Erickson, director of the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, which has been monitoring the Africanized bee. "The African stock was never selected for gentleness. They are bees created as nature meant them, with all of the defenses that were needed." Africanized bees, a species that had its day in the limelight in the late 1970s, were back in the news this week when Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) officials warned that "killer" bees were on Utah's doorstep. "One of our efforts is to avoid panic," said Dick Wilson, plant-industry director for UDAF. "I encourage the public to learn the facts and follow good common sense." The bees were spotted recently in Mesquite, about 30 miles southwest of the Utah-Nevada border, when they attacked a city public-works employee. Officials say they could be in St. George inside of two years, most likely by following the Virgin River from Mesquite into Southern Utah. Though agriculture officials have set bee traps along the southern Utah border for five years, none of them have caught any Africanized bees, said state entomologist Ed Bianco. In the 1500s, the Catholic orders brought the gentler European bees to the New World because they used the honey to make sacramental wine and the beeswax for candles. But the European bees were not good honey producers in the tropics of Central and South America. In the 1950s, the Brazilian government had scientists import African honey bees to their country to breed them with the gentler European bees and create a hybrid that could handle the warmer climates. But in 1957, some of the African bees escaped the research lab and hybridized with other native Brazilian bees. The problem is, the offspring took on the more aggressive behavior of the African bees. "No one seems to know exactly what happened. They were accidentally released into the wild where they proliferated and continue to do so," Erickson said. "They have been migrating out of Brazil in every direction since then." The bees, called Apis mellifera, have been moving northward into Central America, Mexico and now the United States. The first colony in this country was discovered in October 1990 in Hidalgo, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley. Since then, six people have been killed and hundreds of attacks against humans and animals have been reported from Africanized bees in the United States. So far, they have been responsible for more attacks in Texas than European bees, according to Texas A&M University, which runs a database on bee attacks. "The most highly defensive colonies will launch about 20,000 to 30,000 bees in about 15 seconds," Erickson said. Maurice Wilson Sr. was attacked by Africanized bees while operating a tractor mower near Seguin, Texas, last May. "He had to drive his tractor about a quarter of a mile to his home, and he was getting stung along the way," said Lisa Bradley, who runs the honey-bee identification lab at Texas A&M. "He was pouring gasoline on top of himself to try and get them off." Though Wilson survived, doctors said he had been stung more than 1,000 times. The last person killed in the United States by the bees was an 83-year-old Long Beach, Calif., beekeeper who was stung at least 50 times. And a swarm of the bees reportedly killed a dog and attacked residents in a Las Vegas neighborhood early last month. Africanized bees look much like European honeybees except they are slightly smaller. They can be identified only under microscope or with DNA testing, Bianco said. They have the same amount of venom, and the poison is no more toxic, than that of the European bee. They just attack in bigger swarms and will chase a victim for a longer distance. According to Erickson, the lethal limit for humans is about six stings per pound of body weight, making babies and children particularly vulnerable. And elderly people are less tolerant of the venom, he said. The bees also could pose problems for beekeepers who raise the gentler European bees for honey production and pollinating crops. Africanized bees can swoop in and take over a beekeeper's colonies, requiring them to requeen the hives. At $6 to $12 per queen for each hive, that can get expensive for beekeepers with several thousand hives, especially in an industry that already is depressed in Utah, according to Wilburn Phelps, president of the Utah Beekeepers Association. "The other economic drawback is whether people will let you continue to have your hives," he said. "Will [neighbors] get too scared?" It is unknown how far north the bees can go. While the cold climate proves to be somewhat of a barrier, some of the Africanized bees have lived at higher elevations and in lower temperatures after hybridizing with bees in those climates, Erickson said. Meanwhile, St. George emergency-management-services officials will be training public-works employees, police, fire and other emergency workers on what to do in case they happen upon a colony of Africanized bees, said Washington County Sheriff Kirk Smith. And officials from the Utah Department of Health and the Utah State University Agriculture Extension Service will provide pamphlets for residents on how to deal with Africanized bees. "This is not insect Armageddon. It's a bee with a bit of an attitude," Smith said. "But we have to learn the habitat, learn where these bees are. People will just have to pay attention." (Vince Horiuchi, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11/11/99).

Salt Lake City, UT --- WHAT TO DO WHEN SWARMS APPEAR --- It goes without saying that when a swarm of Africanized bees have you in their sights, you run -- fast. But here are some other tips to help when they do come to Southern Utah. -- If attacked, do not only run, but cover your head and face with your shirt. And do not run into water, because the bees will hover above and wait for you to surface for air. -- Remove the stingers by scraping them out instead of picking them out, which could push more venom into the body. See a doctor if stung more than 15 times or if you have an allergic reaction. -- If you know you are allergic to bee stings, always have someone with you when doing outdoor activitiies and always carry a bee-sting kit. -- Inspect your home for large holes and other open spaces, which is where Africanized bees like to build a hive, and seal them. -- Africanized bees can be drawn to loud noises like lawnmowers. Inspect the area before using noisy outdoor equipment. -- If you encounter a hive, do not destroy it yourself. Call either the Utah State Agriculture Extension Service office in your area or police or fire officials to determine if they are Africanized bees before calling an exterminator. (Vince Horiuchi, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11/11/99).

Salt Lake City, UT --- RESIDENTS WARNED ABOUT KILLER BEES --- The state Agriculture Department is warning residents of southern Utah that aggressive killer bees may be migrating into their area. A city worker across the border in Meskite, Nevada was attacked by the bees while he was trimming trees. Officials believe the man got too close to the beehive, and was stung as many as 15 times by a swarm of bees that were later determined to be the African variety. (ABC NewsWire, 11/5/99).     Also see "S. Utah on the lookout for Africanized honeybees - Utah officials readying for 'killer' bees to arrive" by By C.G. Wallace, Associated Press writer, published 11/9/99 in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Los Angeles, CA --- 'KILLER BEES' HAVE COLONIZED ALL OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA --- The Los Angeles Times reported today California State experts advise all of southern California has been colonized by Africanized 'Killer' bees and they expect the bees' numbers will continue to increase over time. State officials have declared the entire counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino colonized. County officials say little can be done to limit the spread and residents in these areas will have to learn to live with them. Entomologists studying the progress of the bees in California also report the bees have been also found in southern Ventura and eastern Kern counties, and they expect the bees, in time, will reach San Francisco. Africanized bees are considered the greatest threat to people in open areas -- such as in fields or equestrian trials -- where there is no immediate place for a person to take shelter, and a particular threat to the elderly or infirm who cannot run away or may fall and become easy prey, reports the newspaper. (Tom Gorman, Los Angeles Times, 11/1/99).

Las Vegas, NV --- NEVADA LIMITING KILLER BEE RESPONSES TO POOR PEOPLE --- With Africanized honeybees, also known as killer bees, widely established in Clark County and southern Nye County, the Nevada Department of Agriculture is limiting its government-financed responses to people who can't afford to hire private pest-control companies. Robert Gronowski, administrator of the department's Plant Industry Division, said Thursday a contract is expected to be signed next week with three companies who will provide response service to the poor for both Africanized bee and imported fire ant problems. The contract will use the $10,000 that the Legislature provided for assisting with those insect problems, he said. "We can't do it for free for everybody. The people who can afford it are supposed to go to pest control operators," Gronowski said. Guidelines on who will be eligible are being established, he said. Department Area Manager Tom Smigel said some of the $10,000 also can be used for certain public health emergencies, such as the threat posed by bees in public areas. People who believe they have a problem with bees or fire ants can still contact the Culture Department for control advice, Smigel said. Or, they can hire a pest-control company through the Pest Control Association 24-hour, hot line telephone number, 385-5853. Emergency response agencies met Friday for an Agriculture Department training session on how to deal with future bee emergencies. (Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/23/99).

Las Vegas, NV ---CONCERN GROWS OVER SPREAD OF AFRICANIZED BEES --- Growing concern over the spread of Africanized bees in Southern Nevada has prompted officials to offer tips on how to deal with the problem. City and state officials met Friday to discuss ways of coping with what is expected to be a growing problem. Attacks by the bees, commonly referred to as killer bees, occur more in the fall and spring when pollen is scarce. The meeting comes three weeks after a swarm of Africanized bees killed a dog and attacked residents and other pets in a Las Vegas neighborhood. The dreaded bees entered the Laughlin, Nev. area in April of 1998, moving up to the Las Vegas Valley in August of last year. They've also been detected near Mesquite, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, and Pahrump, 60 miles west of here. Traps have been placed in Washoe, Nye and Lincoln counties to monitor their movement northward. The problem is likely to intensify. "We have created artificial tropics in the desert," said Rodney Mehring, the owner of Bee Master exterminators. "After the bees run out of food in the desert, the whole colony leaves the hive in search of food." Mehring suggested residents prepare by recaulking homes to prevent the bees from entering the attic or walls and clearing old boxes and wood piles from yards. He says he's seen bees colonize a variety of items including an old flower pot left upside down in a backyard. Once the bees establish a home, their numbers can increase significantly in a short time and their behavior becomes more aggressive. The bees generally keep to themselves but if a threat is perceived, attack is eminent. The Africanized bees remain agitated for as long as eight hours after being disturbed and will chase a perceived predator as far as a quarter-mile. Actions that provoke the bees include operating power equipment, such as a lawn mower, within 100 feet of the hive, or any movement within 50 feet. "Yes, they're here and they're a threat and we have to watch out for them," said Gina Stoneking, an agriculturist with Nevada's Department of Agriculture. Stoneking said people can coexist with the Africanized bees as long as they are aware of how to deal with them. According to Stoneking, it is just a matter of time before the Africanized bees mate with most of the more common and docile European honey bees in the Las Vegas Valley. The two types of bees are closely related and even experts cannot tell them apart with the naked eye. The hybrid that results from this union retains the aggressive characteristics of the Africanized bee. The Africanized bees are responsible for more than 1,000 deaths in Southern America, Central America and Mexico since a colony escaped a laboratory in 1956. They first appeared in the United States in Texas in 1990. The bees have also reached Arizona, New Mexico and California. (Trevor Hayes, AP, 10/22/99).

Scottsdale, AZ --- ANGRY BEES KILL 2 DOGS IN SCOTTSDALE ATTACK --- Thousands of insects swarm after spraying --- The scratch marks outside Colleen Chudzinski's porch rug on Sunday are a visible reminder of a violent bee attack and the suffering her dog endured. A block away, dead bees spread across Frank Espinosa's back yard where his dog used to play. Both watched helplessly as their pets died Saturday after being attacked by a swarm of bees in their quiet Scottsdale neighborhood. "When I got to the vet, they were still pulling bees out of his hair," Espinosa said of his 8-month Australian shepherd puppy, Sinbad. Chudzinski was saddened by the loss of her dog but thought of her grandchildren. They often played with Caballo, a 7-year-old Labrador mix, she said. "I am just thankful they were not out there with him," Chudzinski said. The bees apparently came from a hive in the decorative wall outside of a house rented by Kevin Sack, who called his landlord after he and a friend were stung. Sack said the bees were never violent until Saturday. He watched from inside his house at the 2000 block of North 87th Way as the bees pounded his window and zigzagged wildly outside. "It was like a sandstorm," he said. It turned out that the landlord had sprayed the bees with roach repellent. He managed to kill a few bees but at the same time ignited about 60,000 to 80,000 of the insects into a furious swarm. "It made the rest of the hive pretty upset," said Jerry Keele, a beekeeper and co-owner of Ambush Bee and Pest Control. Keele was called out to kill off the bees and discovered a hive 6 feet long. He wore a protective suit and veil and used a special chemical that killed most of the bees that had thrived in the cool interior of the wall. There is no way to tell what type of bees attacked the dogs without testing the insects, said Keele's partner, Chris Miller. One area resident who attempted to help one of the dogs went to the hospital with 30 stings, rescue workers reported. Espinosa said he found out his dog was in trouble about 5:20 p.m. Saturday when he arrived home to discover police on his block. He found his dog lying motionless in his backyard with bees enveloping his head. Espinosa was stung himself when he tried to spray the bees away with a water hose. He finally managed to get the dog side the house and then to a veterinarian. "They did the best they could," Espinosa said. When the veterinarian told Espinosa there was no hope for his dog he brought him home and sat with him on his bed. "He died in my arms," Espinosa said. Chudzinski was upstairs with her grandson when she heard her dog, Caballo, let out a loud scream. She rushed ownstairs and saw her dog furiously try to fight off bees surrounding his body. Chudzinski's husband, Michael, aimed a high-pressure water hose at his dog, but the bees still clung onto the animal and stung him. The dog ran about a block away before collapsing at another house. Other neighbors tried to hose the bees off and were stung. "He was a gentle dog," Chudzinski said, still shaken by the attack. "The grandchildren all said prayers for him last night." (Peter Ortiz, The Arizona Republic, 10/18/99).

Scottsdale, AZ --- SWARM OF BEES ATTACK --- Officials are still trying to determine if it was the so-called "killer bees" that swarmed on a Scottsdale neighborhood over the weekend. The bees just seemed to go crazy after a homeowner sprayed the hive with a can of Raid. They killed a dog and stung two men bad enough that they had to be take away by paramedics. A bee keeper was finally called in to bring the hive under control. At this point we still don't know if they were the Africanized honey bees that are often called "killer bees" because of their aggressiveness. (ABC NewsWire, 10/18/99).

College Station, TX --- TWO COUNTIES ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST FOR AFRICANIZED BEES --- Borden and Nolan counties have been added to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees there. The addition makes 119 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Bees were collected in Borden County from tree at the York Family Cemetery 13 miles east of Gail. One man was stung six times in that incident, but was not seriously injured. In Nolan County, a wild colony was found outside of a building 7 miles southwest of Roscoe. No one was reported stung in this case. "Samples from both of the locations were collected and sent to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Identification Lab where they were confirmed as Africanized," Jackson said. "Apiary inspectors were sent to both locations to investigate the circumstances to determine whether the Africanized honey bees had gotten to those counties through natural migration or through some type of human-assisted action." In both cases, it was determined that the bees had arrived on their own, Jackson explained, so the counties were quarantined. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M Agriculture News, 10/11/99).

Las Vegas, NV --- TESTS CONFIRM KILLER BEES IN LAS VEGAS --- Keith Rogers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports testing by state Agriculture Department officials confirmed the bees that attacked and killed a dog and stung three people on October 3rd were the aggressive, Africanized variety. Analysis of specimens removed from the hive showed, with 97 percent surety, that the bees were Africanized hybrids or, as they are sometimes called, killer bees. The paper interviewed Mr. Tom Smigel, Agriculture Department area manager. In the article Mr Smigel said "It means Africanized bees are here and people should really be inspecting their properties and making sure there are no wild colonies around the home and grounds,". Smigel advises residents to call the Pest Control Association hot line, 385-5853 if a bee swarm is discovered on their property. The bees involved in the Sunday morning stinging incident killed a Rottweiler, stung a 12-year-old girl who had let the dog out in the back yard, and also stung two nearby residents and two other dogs. None of the people suffered serious injuries, according to a Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman. Smigel said September and October are the most dangerous months for Africanized bee attacks because nectar and pollen are in short supply and the bees are more aggressive and protective of the brood they are raising. Most fatalities from bee stings have occurred during those months in the United States, he said. (Keith Rogers, The Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/8/99).

Mesa, AZ --- BEE VICTIM BACK HOME --- Twenty-six-year-old Cliff Nino is finally out of the hospital and back home. He's the man who was stung more than 100 times by bees while working at a construction site in Mesa. (ABC NewsWire, 10/8/99).

Las Vegas, NV --- BEES KILL DOG, STING THREE PEOPLE --- The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports a swarm of bees killed a pet Rottweiler and stung at least three people Sunday morning. The bees were subdued by police and fire crews with foam. The paper reports Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski as stating a laboratory examination would determine if the bees sampled at the site are Africanized killer bees. The incident occurred at 5820 Alfred Drive, near Smoke Ranch Road and Jones Boulevard, around 10:30 a.m. and was reported to police by several neighbors who saw swarming bees. A 12-year-old girl stung in the incident was inside a house when firefighters arrived at the scene. It is believed the bees moved into an unused beehive in the family's back yard. Firefighters sprayed the box with foam, killing the colony. The Review-Journal reported the 12-year-old girl had let her pet dog out in the back yard that morning. She was reported as later hearing the dog barking and whining. When she went outside to investigate, the dog was lying on the ground covered with bees. The girl then took a garden hose and doused the bees with water, but the bees then attacked her. She retreated into the house after suffering several bee stings. Two nearby residents and two other dogs were stung, but none suffered serious injuries. (Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/4/99).

Naco, AZ --- BORDER AGENT RECOVERING --- A U-S Border Patrol agent is recovering from an attack this week in the town of Naco. It wasn't from any human attack. It was bees. The agent was stung more than 100-times. Officials say they don't know if this was the work of those aggressive "killer bees" or not. (ABC News Wire, 9/30/99).

Los Angeles, CA ---WARNINGS ISSUED ON KILLER BEES --- Los Angeles county agriculture officials have issued an unprecedented warning. They say the public should treat any bee they encounter as if it was a killer bee. This follows the death of an 83-year-old Long Beach man who was severely stung by a swarm of Africanized honeybees. Agriculture officials say if the bees feel threatened by pets or people, they will attack en mass. They say be especially careful of swarms of bees. (ABC News Wire, 9/23/99).

Long Beach, CA --- LB MAN DIES FROM BEE ATTACK --- An 83-year-old man attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees has become the first known victim of a "killer bee" attack in Los Angeles County. Virgil Foster died Saturday at Lakewood Regional Medical Center. The "Long Beach Press-Telegram" says Foster's death may be the first fatality in California linked to the bees and only the sixth in the U-S. An autopsy will be performed today or tomorrow to determine exactly what caused his death. Foster was mowing his lawn when he was stung at least 50 times by the highly aggressive bees. (ABC NewsWire, 5:50pm 9/13/99).

College Station, TX --- THREE COUNTIES ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST FOR AFRICANIZED BEES --- Scurry, Comanche and Lampasas counties have been added to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees there. The addition makes 117 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. "The increase in bee activities can be attributed to early fall swarming," Jackson said. Honey bees typically swarm heavily in the spring and to some extent again in the fall, he explained. A swarm is a group of bees that leave an existing hive when it becomes too crowded to set up home in a new location. Bees were collected in Scurry County from an abandoned commercial beehive six miles northeast of Snyder. A wild colony was found five miles southwest of De Leon in Comanche County after the landowner was stung several times over a period of days, and a wild swarm was found in a tree 3.5 miles northeast of Lampasas in Lampasas County. Samples from all of the locations were collected and sent to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Identification Lab where they were confirmed as Africanized. State bee inspectors continue to monitor a series of bee traplines that extend across the state from Louisiana to New Mexico, Jackson noted. The Africanized bee was first detected entering the United States near Brownsville in October 1990. Since then, the bee has spread through much of the state, along a line roughly from south of Houston to south of Lubbock to El Paso. Africanized honey bees also have been found in Arizona, California and New Mexico. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M Agriculture News, 9/10/99).

Tucson, AZ --- KILLER BEES EXPECTED --- Killer bee season is fast approaching in Arizona. Experts at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center say a dry fall and spring kept many of the bees in their hives. But with the recent rains, the bees are ready to come out and spread. The killer bees seem to have replaced the European Honey Bee, which was bred to be more docile and less poisonous than other types of bees. The bee infestation is expected in Arizona in the next few weeks. (ABC News, 9/10/99).

Mexico City, Mexico - MAN KILLED BY SWARM OF KILLER BEES ---A Mexican man was killed by a swarm of killer bees in the central state of Hidalgo, firefighters said Thursday. Angel Santos Escobedo, 55, died Wednesday after being attacked while collecting mushrooms. His wife Reina, 45 and daughter Guadalupe, 16, were able to escape from the bees, firefighter Arturo Hernandez Osorio said. At least 18 people have been injured by killer bees in Hidalgo state this year, according to the fire department. Killer bees are dangerous because they are so aggressive when protecting their hives. They began moving north after a Brazilian laboratory accidentally released them in 1956. Several people in the southern United States have been killed by them. (AP, 9/2/99).

Long Beach, CA --- LONG BEACH MAN CRITICAL AFTER BEE STINGS --- An elderly Long Beach man is being kept alive on a respirator after being stung by about 50 aggressive bees. Virgil Foster's son says his dad may have had as many as one-Million bees on his property. Investigators say Foster was cutting grass when he brushed up against an enclosure. That's when the bees attacked the 83-year-old man. The health department eradicated the entire colony. They are trying to determine if any of the bees were the Africanized type. (States News Service, 9/1/99).

Long Beach, CA --- FORMER BEEKEEPER STUNG MORE THAN 50 TIMES --- An elderly man who was a longtime beekeeper was stung about 50 times by bees Tuesday and taken to a hospital, where he was unconscious and on a respirator, authorities said. Virgil Foster, 83, was attacked by some of the bees he kept in his backyard when he bumped their quarters while mowing the lawn at 4803 Autry Ave. about 2 p.m., said Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Wayne Chaney. Foster's son, Kevin, was stung about 15 times when he dragged his father inside and called paramedics, the spokesman said. Some of the bees even followed the paramedics when they took Foster to Lakewood Regional Hospital, the spokesman said. About 10 of the dead bees have been given to county and state officials to determine whether their wingspan and DNA match those of Africanized bees, which are extremely aggressive, Chaney said. Kevin Foster said his father had been a beekeeper for 60 years. He said his father had quit beekeeping some time ago, and had only recently started keeping bees again. He added that his father may have had as many as 1 million bees. Chaney said the county Health Department eradicated the colony. (The Los Angeles Times, 9/1/99).

Long Beach, CA --- KILLER BEES ATTACK MAN IN CALIFORNIA --- - An 83-year-old beekeeper who did not realize his hives were apparently taken over by Africanized ``killer bees'' was attacked while mowing his lawn and in critical condition Wednesday. Virgil Foster was stung 50 times Tuesday and was not breathing when paramedics arrived. He went into cardiac arrest as they worked on him. Health department officials estimate Foster's three hives, originally set up for more timid European bees, held about 1 million Africanized honeybees. They also built a hive in a tree. Africanized bees are not more venomous than other varieties, but they are more aggressive and attack in large numbers. They appear very similar to European bees, although killer bees have a shorter wingspan. If the bees are conclusively found to be Africanized, it would be their first recorded attack on a person in the county. Authorities destroyed the swarm after the attack. ``That's the problem with Africanized bees,'' said John Hurley, county bee Inspector. ``They don't move in mean. They're just like a regular bee and then, all of a sudden, they realize, 'we've got to defend this.' They're very unpredictable.'' Foster had more than 60 years of beekeeping experience but had largely gotten out of the hobby until recently, when some wild bees settled in his hives. Family members warned Foster to get rid of the bees because they could be Africanized, but he didn't think that was the case, Hurley said. (AP, 9/1/99)

Stamford, TX --- JONES COUNTY ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST FOR AFRICANIZED BEES --- Jones County has been added to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees there. The addition makes 114 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. A large colony of bees was found in the eaves of a front porch at a residence in Stamford, Jackson said. "The hive had been there so long, it was the size of a 55-gallon drum." Bees were collected and sent to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Identification Lab where they were confirmed as Africanized. State bee inspectors continue to monitor a series of bee traplines that extend across the state from Louisiana to New Mexico, Jackson noted. The Africanized bee was first detected entering the United States near Brownsville in October 1990. Since then, the bee has spread through much of the state, along a line roughly from south of Houston to south of Lubbock to El Paso. Africanized honey bees also have been found in Arizona, California and New Mexico. For information about Africanized honey bees on the web, try http://agnews.tamu.edu/bees. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, 9/1/99).

Acapulco, Mexico --- KILLER BEES KILL ONE, INJURE 12 --- Killer bees attacked a group of women and children heading for a swim in a river in southwest Mexico, killing one and injuring 12, officials said Wednesday. They said Matilde Bernal, 28, died from hundreds of stings while 12 others, including five children, had to be taken to a hospital after being attacked by Africanized bees Tuesday near the town of Tixtlancingo, 20 miles (30 kms) northwest of the Pacific coast beach resort of Acapulco. It was the second reported attack by Africanized bees in Mexico this month. On Aug. 10 bees disrupted the burial of a man in the western state of Nayarit, stinging 60 people. The bees are a hybrid of European bees and an aggressive African bee introduced to Brazil in 1956 for interbreeding. The bees escaped into the wild in 1957, gradually working their way north and reaching Texas in 1990. (Reuters, 8/26/99).

Villahermosa, Mexico - ONE ARMED MAN DIES IN KILLER BEE ATTACK IN MEXICO --- Killer bees attacked a one-armed man in southeast Mexico Wednesday, killing him and stinging three of his children, officials said. "The father of the children could not defend himself because he was missing an arm. His children saved themselves by jumping into a river," said Romeo Grajales, an official of the Tabasco state government. The incident happened in the village of Centla, just outside the state capital Villahermosa, some 430 miles (700 km) southeast of Mexico City. Officials said the three children were in serious condition in hospital. It was the second attack in two days in Mexico by Africanized honeybees, which are extremely aggressive. Tuesday, killer bees interrupted the burial of a man in the western Mexican state of Nayarit and stung 60 people. Africanized honey bees are a hybrid of European bees and an aggressive African import introduced to Brazil in 1956 for interbreeding. Some 26 colonies escaped into the wild in 1957, and the insects have been moving steadily north through Latin America at a rate of about 300 miles (480 km) a year. The bees reached Texas in 1990 and in June were found in northeast Florida, the first time they have been confirmed on the U.S. mainland east of the Mississippi river. (Reuters, 8/12/99).

Mexico City, Mexico --- BEES INJURE 60 AT BURIAL--- Killer bees disrupted the burial of a man in the western Mexican state of Nayarit Tuesday and stung 60 people, official news agency Notimex reported. The Africanized honeybees swarmed out of a nest in the ground as mourners were at a burial in the cemetery of the village of Puerta de Magos, Notimex said. The injured were treated at a nearby hospital, and returned to the ceremony once police chased off the bees using a mixture of insecticide, soap and water. Africanized honey bees are a hybrid of European bees and an aggressive African import introduced to Brazil in 1956 for interbreeding. Some 26 colonies escaped into the wild in 1957, and the insects have been moving steadily north through Latin America at a rate of about 300 miles (480 km) a year. The aggressive bees reached Texas in 1990. They have killed people in Argentina and Costa Rica. (Reuters, 8/11/99)

Tijeras, NM --- AFRICANIZED BEES FOUND IN CENTRAL NEW MEXICO --- Experts used to think the mountains of central New Mexico were too cold and too high for the Africanized honey bee. Veteran beekeeper Fred Frye has painful evidence to the contrary. Frye was inspecting a new hive last spring in the mountains east of Albuquerque when a swarm of hostile bees poured out and covered him head to toe. The bees stung Frye at least 15 times. He found another 250 stingers in his denim coveralls. Genetic tests at a U.S. Department of Agricultural laboratory in Maryland determined the bees were a cross between Africanized bees, sometimes called killer bees, and more docile European honey bees. "They just kept getting more and more intense," says Frye, who was swollen, but uninjured after the incident. "I've had my bees stirred up pretty good before, but these were more aggressive. I had several hundred on me, trying to sting me through my shirt and pants." The Africanized bee is particularly dangerous because it is so aggressive. They have been blamed for at least seven deaths in the Southwest - four in Arizona and three in Texas - since coming to the United States in 1990. The bees started traveling north after accidentally being released from a Brazilian laboratory in 1956. The tropical bee has adapted well to parts of the West - including southern counties in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California and Nevada. Before finding the hybridized bees in Tijeras in May, New Mexico agriculture officials had confirmed killer bees in only eight southern New Mexico counties. State entomologist Carol Sutherland says the colony in Tijeras is the first sign for New Mexico that the bees are moving northward. "We really don't know how far north they are," Sutherland says. "But the geographic bridge is there between the southern counties of New Mexico, western counties in Texas and along the water channels in the Rio Grande Valley. With the salt cedar trees and water there, they could easily move north." Experts suspect cross-mating between Africanized bees and more docile domestic bees is one reason for the northward trek. "European bees can handle what we call a temperate climate, but the Africanized bees are a tropical bee and the blending of the two together seem to have an advantage for them," says Eric Mussen, an extension apiculturist at the University of California-Davis. Unfortunately, Mussen says, the Africanized bees' aggressive behavior is a dominate trait that persist despite cross-mating. Justin Schmidt, a researcher at the Agricultural Department's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Ariz., has been studying killer bees for more than a dozen years. He says the bees have been found as far north as Flagstaff, Ariz., which is about the same latitude as Tijeras. "Sometimes you get this odd quirk - that one of the hives is way out of its normal range," Schmidt says. "They are fairly far north ... but they don't seem to be causing as much trouble as in Tucson and Phoenix." Despite their extreme defensiveness, experts say people should not expect black clouds of killer bees to descend from the sky and attack. "People are already aware of honey bees, bumble bees and yellowjackets. Generally speaking you don't get bothered by any of them unless you get too close to where they're nesting," Mussen says. "Africanized bees are just like other bees, except that one glaring trait - they are ultra-defensive." No fatal encounters have been recorded in New Mexico, but agriculture officials say there have been several reports of livestock and pets being stung. Nevada officials have confirmed dozens of swarms in the southern part of the state; and in California, agriculture officials say the bees have colonized more than 42,000 square miles. "There's nothing you can do about it. They've been coming for years," Frye says. "But it's really going to be hard for beekeepers to convince their neighbors that every bee they see is not a killer bee." (Susan Montoya, AP, 8/5/99).

Tiejeras, N.M. --- AFRICANIZED BEES DISCOVERED IN CENTRAL NEW MEXICO --- The din of buzzing bees grew to a roar as beekeeper Fred Frye inspected a new hive last spring. Moments later, the bees swarmed, covering him from head to toe. Frye was stung 15 to 20 times. He found another 250 stingers in his overalls. Genetic tests at a U.S. Department of Agricultural laboratory in Maryland determined the bees were a cross between an Africanized honey bee, also called a killer bee, and a more docile European honey bee. "They just kept getting more and more intense," says Frye, who was swollen, but uninjured after the incident. "I've had my bees stirred up pretty good before, but these were more aggressive. I had several hundred on me, trying to sting me through my shirt and pants." The Africanized bee is particularly dangerous because it is so aggressive. They have been blamed for at least seven deaths in the Southwest - four in Arizona and three in Texas - since coming to the United States in 1990. Africanized bees are here to stay, but officials say residents should not worry about black clouds of hostile critters forming in the sky. "People are already aware of honey bees, bumble bees and yellowjackets. Generally speaking you don't get bothered by any of them unless you get too close to where they're nesting," says Eric Mussen, an extension apiculturist at the University of California-Davis. "Africanized bees are just like other bees, except that one glaring trait - they are ultra-defensive," he says. Before the colony in Tijeras was found, agricultural officials had confirmed Africanized bees in only eight southern New Mexico counties. State entomologist Carol Sutherland says the Tijeras hive, about 10 miles from Frye's home, was presumed to be a hybrid with Africanized tendencies. Frye described the hybrids as some of the most hostile and bitter bees he has encountered during his nine years of beekeeping in the mountains just east of Albuquerque. Africanized bees also have taken up residence in southwestern Texas as well as the southern parts of Arizona, Nevada and California. "We really don't know how far north they are," Sutherland says. "But the geographic bridge is there between the southern counties of New Mexico, western counties in Texas and along the water channels in the Rio Grande Valley. With the salt cedar trees and water there, they could easily move north." But Sutherland says she's not ready to add Bernalillo County - where the hybrid bees were found - to the list of "Africanized" counties. She says the bees have only some traits of the Africanized bee. State officials suspect, however, that Africanized bees are in other areas of the state. It would be difficult to find every killer bee. "In some of the other counties where the human population is not as dense, we just haven't had cases where bees and humans have crossed paths," she says. Justin Schmidt, a bee researcher at the Agricultural Department's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Ariz., has been studying killer bees for more than a dozen years. He says the bees have been found as far north as Flagstaff, Ariz., which is about the same latitude as Tijeras. "Sometimes you get this odd quirk - that one of the hives is way out of its normal range," Schmidt says. "They are fairly far north ... but they don't seem to be causing as much trouble as in Tucson and Phoenix. "Tucson is just bee heaven," he says. "If the weather is good, the bees just go crazy." Since arriving in Arizona in 1993, authorities say killer bees have been responsible for four deaths, the last in September 1998, when a Tucson man was stung only twice but suffered a fatal allergic reaction. No fatal encounters have been recorded in New Mexico, but agriculture officials say there have been several reports of livestock and pets being stung. Nevada officials have confirmed dozens of swarms in the southern part of the state; and in California, agriculture officials say the bees have colonized more than 42,000 square miles. "There's nothing you can do about it. They've been coming for years," Frye says. "But it's really going to be hard for beekeepers to convince their neighbors that every bee they see is not a killer bee." (Susan Montoya, AP, 8/4/99).

Jacksonville, FL --- KILLER BEES BAGGED AND TAGGED --- Another swarm of killer bees has been found and eradicated at Jacksonville's Blount Island shipping terminal. Dockworkers found the Africanized bees in earthmoving equipment coming in from Brazil. The insects had created a makeshift hive inside the hollow metal arm of the equipment's hydraulic system. The exterminator waited until dark when the bees settled down... then he tented the hive and fumigated it. Two swarms of killer bees were found at the port three months ago, but D-N-A tests conducted at the University of Florida show the new killer bees are not related to the ones discovered in April. (States News Service, 6/25/99).

Meridan, TX --- THREE COUNTIES ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST FOR AFRICANIZED BEES --- Bosque, Hill and Somervell counties have been added to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees in Bosque County. The addition makes 113 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. A wild colony of bees was found in an oak tree near a house about 6 miles north of Meridian and 2 miles east of the Bosque River. A minor stinging incident was reported in connection with the bee hive there. Jackson said the stinging victim recovered fully. Bees were collected and sent to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Identification Lab where they were confirmed as Africanized. Hill and Somervell counties were added even though no bees have been found there, Jackson explained, because those two counties became surrounded by quarantined counties with the addition of Bosque County. He said it is likely that Africanized honey bees are in those counties, but none have been found and identified. Jackson said this is the time of year that honeybees are active and more likely to be seen. State bee inspectors continue to monitor a series of bee traplines that extend across the state from Louisiana to New Mexico, Jackson noted. The Africanized bee was first detected entering the United States near Brownsville in October 1990. Since then, the bee has spread through much of the state, along a line roughly from south of Houston to south of Lubbock to El Paso. Africanized honey bees also have been found in Arizona, California and New Mexico. The quarantine allows beekeepers to move bee hives within but not out of the zone in an effort to prevent assisting the spread. Africanized honey bees look just like regular domestic honey bees but are more defensive in protecting their hives. For information about Africanized honey bees on the web, try http://agnews.tamu.edu/bees. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M Agriculture News, 6/11/99).

Villahermosa, Mexico --- 40 KIDS HURT AS KILLER BEES ATTACK MEXICAN SCHOOL --- So-called killer bees swarmed into a school in southeast Mexico Tuesday, stinging some 40 children and a teacher, Mexican Red Cross officials said. Five children, aged between six and 12, and the teacher were hospitalized after being stung by the Africanized bees, which attack at the slightest provocation, said Red Cross doctor Juan Lopez. The bees attacked a school in the town of Centro, in Tabasco state. Thirty-six other children were given first aid treatment at a health center near the school after suffering pain and even vomiting fits. African honey bees are a hybrid of European honeybees and an aggressive African import introduced to Brazil in 1956 for interbreeding. Some 26 colonies escaped into the wild in 1957 and that front has been moving steadily north through Latin America at a rate of about 300 miles a year. Mexico is already colonized and in 1990, the Africanized bees reached Texas. They can kill if a person is stung enough times. Several people have died in Argentina and Costa Rica in recent years. (Reuters, 6/1/99).

WEST COVINA, CA --- BEE SWARM INVADES CHILD'S BEDROOM --- Family Comes Home To Find Swarm Moving In. A West Covina family is all a-buzz today over a swarm of bees that decided to make the family's home their new home. It was around 10 p.m. Monday when the family arrived home to find dozens of bees clustered on the walls inside their 4-year-old son's bedroom, said CBS 2 News reporter Gustavo Almodovar. The bees apparently got into house, located in the 1300 block of Verness Street, through a hole in the wall. They wasted no time in making themselves comfortable and were already building their hive between two walls. "We were out all night and we came home and there was just a whole bunch of bees that were swarmed in Colt's bedroom," stunned father Tom Waterbury told Almodovar. "There was a couple over in Cody's bedroom and it freaked us out. We've never seen a bunch a bees like that together." "They were just sitting on the wall, actually my wife saw it, she didn't know what it was, so I walked up and looked at them and they were bees, just a pack of bees on the wall," he said. The frightened family called the fire department, which sent Vector Control over to the residence. Workers then used a foam pesticide to kill the bees. It was not immediately known if the bees were Africanized honeybees, the so-called "killer bees," or just normal ones. The family had to evacuate the home for the night. No one stung in the incident. (Jenni Taylor, Channel 2000 Staff Writer, 6/1/99).

Phoenix, AZ --- FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE TEEN AFTER FALL AT HOLE IN ROCK --- Phoenix firefighters rescued a 13-year-old boy from the Hole in the Rock at the Papago Buttes when he became stranded after bees stung him Saturday evening. The 13-year-old boy had climbed to the top, where he was stung, said Battalion Chief Terry Shields of the Phoenix Fire Department. As he scurried away, he slipped and fell part way down the butte about 6:50 p.m., Shields said. A hiker called for help. Firefighters trekked up the butte, near the Phoenix Zoo, and guided the boy down with a harness and rope, Shields said. The boy was bruised and slightly injured a leg, but was OK, Shields said. His name was not released. (The Arizona Republic, 5/16/99).

Jacksonville, FL --- KILLER BEES TRAPPED AT PORT --- Unwelcome arrivals pose no threat. Several thousand African bees were caught and destroyed in Jacksonville last month, state agricultural officials said yesterday. African bees, commonly called killer bees, are more aggressive and temperamental than their domestic counterparts, but officials think they have captured them all. The potentially harmful bees were found April 23 in two traps at the Jacksonville Port Authority's Blount Island terminal. On Monday, agricultural inspectors brought a third trap from the Northside terminal to their Gainesville lab, but the hive included no African bees, said Laurence Cutts, the state's chief apiary inspector. While swarms of African bees can be a danger to people, a handful of them should not cause any problems, a University of Florida professor said. ''Just having a few bees flying around is nothing,'' said Tom Sanford, a beekeeping specialist at the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. An established swarm of African bees, which can include about 10,000 to 20,000 bees, can be dangerous because if provoked, hundreds of bees together will attack people and animals. The bees, which are not more poisonous than domestic - or European - bees, have been known to chase people for up to half a mile, said Glenn Hague, African bee technician for the state's Division of Plant Industry, who on Monday completed DNA analysis on 50 of the bees. In the United States, five people - all of them elderly and with limited mobility - have been killed by bee stings since 1990, according to newspaper reports. This was the third time in the past decade that African bees have been found at the Jacksonville port, said Cutts, adding that the bees likely traveled here aboard a container ship from Puerto Rico, which has an established population. There is no known African bee population in Florida, although swarms have been discovered 17 times since 1983, when they first were found in the port of Miami, said Cutts. African bees migrated into the United States from Mexico in 1990 and they are now in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, said Sanford, a professor in Florida's department of entomology and nemotology. So far, the bees have not traveled eastward from Texas. ''The chances of them establishing a population of bees in Jacksonville is remote,'' he said. The bees ''haven't migrated to Florida. The only ones we've found have been hitchhikers off boats,'' said Hague. The Blount Island discovery marks the first time that bees have been caught in the agricultural department's traps - or bait hives as they are called by the bee inspectors. Previous swarms have been reported by ships' crews or dockworkers, said Cutts. The hives have been used since 1985 and are checked every three weeks. Located most often at ports and along the interstates, there are 500 bait hives in the state, including 27 in Duval County. ''We try to intercept the bees that come in'' to the state, said Hague. This week the inspectors will put another 24 hives - which look like oversize papier-mache flower pots and are filled with a pheromone that attracts bees - on the JPA terminals. (Chris Scribner, Florida Times-Union, 5/5/99).

Morelos, Mexico --- KILLER BEES CLAIM 1 LIFE IN MEXICO --- One person was killed and another hospitalized on Friday after being stung by poisonous Africanized honeybees during a religious ceremony in the Mexican southern state of Morelos. A 13-year-old boy was killed, and his brother was hospitalized and in critical condition from the bee stings. Hundreds of people had gathered on a hill in the town of Tlayacapan, located about 62 miles (100 km) south of Mexico City, for the annual ceremony to celebrate Santa Cruz day when the insect attack occurred. The latest incident marked the second killer bee attack in a month's time on civilians in Morelos. A swarm of bees assaulted a group in April, leaving more than 20 people hospitalized from the painful stings. (Discovery Channel Online - Earth Alert, 5/3/99).

San Diego, CA --- COUNTY IS FEELING BEE-SIEGED --- But experts say these swarms are not composed of dreaded 'killer' variety. Honeybees are swarming across the county -- more of them than have been seen in five years since a bee parasite all but banished the insects. But experts say the bee boom has little to do with Africanized honeybees, the so-called "killer bees" that county experts say arrived late last year in Tierrasanta and Fallbrook. Tests show that the bees forming basketball-sized blobs on fence rails and tree branches are resident European honeybees, the usual species which, if not friendly, are a good deal more reasonable than the Africanized hybrid. "It is not just San Diego County that is seeing a resurgence in feral bee colonies," said Eric Mussen, a bee expert and apiculturist for the University of California Cooperative Extension. "This is by far the largest number of feral (European honeybee) colonies since they were at their all-time low in 1995 and 1996." In those years, the varroa mite, earlier known as a parasite of Asian bee species, appeared in American bees and severely reduced honeybee populations. It feeds by prying open the seams of honeybees' external skeletons and sucking out the insects' internal juices. That eventually kills the host bees. The good news for home gardeners is that all their plants that require pollination probably will produce bumper crops this year. If your plum tree bore 12 plums last year, this year it may bear dozens. But many homeowners appear to be worried by the bee population boom. At All Cities Pest Control in San Diego, "we are probably getting more than 50 calls a day," said office manager Barbara Gengelbach. "They are calling up up to 9 p.m. at night. People are scared." Among the scariest encounters people are reporting is finding swarms inside their homes, which occurs after bees enter through chimneys, torn window screens or other openings. "Scout bees come down chimneys and people come home to find a couple hundred bees inside their homes and they get quite excited. It is easily controlled. If they can find an open window or door they will leave," said Gerhardt Gengelbach, owner of the business. David Kellum, San Diego County entomologist, said, "We are being inundated with calls about bees swarming all over the place." Callers are dialing the county's Africanized bee hotline at (800) 200-BEES at the rate of roughly 10 calls per hour, and about 80 calls are recorded over the weekends, he said. That is what the hotline is for, Kellum said, but he wants residents to know that because the county is considered "colonized" by Africanized honeybees, it will not respond to non-emergency calls. People disturbed by bees swarming on their property should call a licensed pest control operator. If clouds of bees are stinging people -- something experts do not expect the Africanized bees to do for another year or more -- such emergencies should be reported by calling 911. At Knott's Pest Control in La Mesa, receptionist Melissa Mutchler arrived at work Monday to find 29 urgent bee-control calls on the company answering machine -- enough to run it out of tape. She has no idea how many people called and were unable to leave a message. "This is the swarming season, and the best thing to do is remain calm and stay out of the area and either let them pass on through or settle down," said Brian Knott, co-owner. "A swarm is a big mass of bees the size of a basketball. They may move on in a couple of days, if you let them be. They'll send out scouts to find a good new home and when they will find one, they will move off." Experts also say bees that swarm in the spring are gorged with honey and looking for a place to nest, so they have no nest or young to protect. That means they are generally not a threat -- unless people poke them with broom handles, throw rocks at them or otherwise ruin their day. No one really knows why European bees are making such a comeback, especially since some varroa mites are still found among wild honeybees. Mussen said that the mite, whose generations last only three to four weeks, probably has evolved to become a less deadly parasite that feeds on, but doesn't kill, its host. This also is the first spring that Africanized honeybees have been found in the irrigated, constantly blooming and highly populated coastal areas of Southern California, not only in San Diego County but also in Orange and Los Angeles counties. The Africanized bees present in San Diego County probably are not numerous enough to swarm this spring and make new nests, experts believe. But they may be numerous enough to swarm this fall, and those swarms would be more dangerous. San Diego County has Africanized bee information at its Web site: http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/cnty/cntydep ts/landuse/agri/agweb.html The Pest Control Operators of California lists companies qualified to control Africanized honeybees at the Web site: http://www.pcoc.org/ahb.(Steve LaRue, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4/24/99).

Rosemead, CA --- SCE URGES 'BEE-WARY' AROUND ELECTRIC METER CABIENTS --- In the wake of the ongoing migration of Africanized honey bees to the southland, Southern California Edison officials today warned customers that bees and other flying insects can build their nests in electric meter cabinets. "We encourage customers to be aware that an outdoor meter cabinet, like those which sometimes contain the electric panel and SCE meter, can represent an ideal home for bees, wasps and other flying insects," said Suzanne Middelburg, SCE manager of consumer affairs. "They offer protection from the elements and usually are undisturbed except for a monthly visit from our meter reader. Residents should be alert for the hum of bees or wasps when opening a meter cabinet." Other common nest sites for bees include empty containers, fences, old tires, garages, sheds, and any dark area in or around buildings. "Killer" bees have been reported in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial counties in recent weeks. The insects are similar in appearance to European bees, but are much more aggressive and attack in larger numbers. Anyone encountering bees should move away quickly, go indoors or find shelter. Anyone attacked by bees should call 911 for assistance. Information on Africanized honey bees is available from the Los Angeles County bee hotline, 1-800-BEE-WARY. An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is the nation's second largest investor-owned electric utility, serving more than 11 million people in a 50,000-square-mile area within central, coastal and Southern California. (SOURCE: Southern California Edison, Company Press Release, 4/23/99).

San Bernadino, CA --- BEES EXTERMINATED IN INLAND EMPIRE --- Vector control officials in San Bernardino County are exterminating all swarms of bees. Since European honey bees and Africanized bees look so much alike, the officials aren't taking any chances. Testing has revealed about half of the swarms that have inundated schools and other locations are the Africanized variety. Officials say they are sorry to kill off the good bees, but it's better to be safe than sorry. (States News Service, 4/21/99).

Orange County, CA --- 'KILLER' BEES FIND EASY PICKINGS IN ORANGE COUNTY --- FEELING THE STING: Beekeepers, who once kept out invaders, have been driven out of the county by development. The Orange County Register reported today the disappearance of local beekeepers has contributed to spread of Africanized bees in the county. Local beekeepers say skyrocketing development and anti-bee laws have been pushing them out of the county for years. And their robust swarms of European bees are disappearing with them. What's left? A dwindling population of feral bee colonies many ravaged by mites and moths incapable of resisting the aggressive invaders, entomologists say. The irony, some beekeepers say, is that their healthier European hives could have helped slow the spread of the Africanized strain. "We are really the first defense against the Africanized bee," said David Marder, a Laguna Beach beekeeper and president of the Orange County Beekeepers Association. "We should be welcomed here." But many beekeepers say they are choked by restrictions. "The limits are so strict in Orange County that many people have to go out of the county to keep their bees," said Jim Ludiker, a Fountain Valley resident who has managed bee colonies for seven years. "Most people do it as a hobby. And they don't want to drive an hour to go look after their bees. "So they give up," he said. In fact, about 220 of the 300 Orange County Beekeepers Association members have given up since the mid-1980s. And the number of registered beekeepers in the county fell to 15 this year down from about 80 in 1979. Rapid development, including more than 224,000 new homes in the past 20 years, has devoured prime apiary land. As more homes and office parks spring up, the conflict between bees and bee-fearing people has prompted many cities to crack down on previously ignored beekeeping bans. "Everybody wants bees out of the county," said Marder, 37, a 20-year beekeeper. "But people don't realize they are the little elves that do all the work. "When people are enjoying big peaches in the summer, they have the bees to thank for that," he said. The bees benefit because a keeper protects them from the moths and parasitic mites that ravage swarms in the wild. Beekeepers also "requeen" their colonies with new, hearty queens each year. A healthy European queen ensures strong offspring and prevents the colony from adopting the aggressive behavior of Africanized bees. (Eric Carpenter, Orange County Register, 4/19/99).

San Bernadino, CA --- BEE SIGHTINGS UP IN INLAND EMPIRE--- There are swarms of sightings of suspected Africanized bees in the San Bernardino and Riverside areas. Vector control teams are investigating calls a day. They say about 60 percent they investigate turn out to be so-called killer bees. (States News Service, 4/16/99).

Los Angeles, CA --- CITY NOW OFFICIALLY COLONIZED BY KILLER BEES --- Los Angeles -- a city of fires, earthquakes and mudslides -- has a new woe to contend with: colonization by killer bees. Los Angeles county's agriculture commissioner announced Thursday that Africanized honeybees -- known as "killer bees" because they have slain at least five people in the United States -- have moved into the last killer bee-free zone in the sprawling 4,083-square mile (10,616-square km) county. Commissioner Cato Fiksdal said the bees were recently found lurking under the eaves of a building in the suburb of Palmdale, which previously had no killer bees. "As a result of the recent detection in Palmdale, we are officially declaring that the entire county of Los Angeles is now colonized by the bees," Fiksdal said. "This particular colony was suspect and we sent the DNA to (be tested) and they confirmed it." Killer bees are no more venomous than normal bees but are considerably more aggressive and thus sting more readily. Fiksdal said the declaration was made to alert residents to the bees and "to let them know that they should not try to remove or deal with a colony of feral bees on their own. They should call for a professional." The first swarms of Africanized honeybees were discovered in Los Angeles county last December, Fiksdal said. Some came via ship from Central America, while others migrated from other parts of the country. The surrounding Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties have already been colonized. The bees' last known victim was a 72-year-old man in Casa Grande, Ariz., who was attacked and killed in his mobile home in April 1997. Fiksdal said anyone attacked by a swarm of killer bees should cover his or her nose, mouth and eyes, get into an enclosed area and call 911. Fiksdal advised against going underwater because, he said, the bees wait for their victim to resurface. (Reuters, 4/8/99).

San Diego, CA --- ABUZZ WITH WORRY OVER 'KILLER' BEES --- Live Oak Park is living history to the north. The rustic 25-acre county park with majestic oaks up to 250 years old is what's been preserved of Reche Grove, a 160-acre Fallbrook retreat dating back to the 19th century. A week ago, the gnarly old park made fresh history when an Africanized (a.k.a. "killer") bee was reported found there, one of two in the county. Anticipated for years, the angry homeboy bees, blamed for five deaths in this country, have landed. In response to heightened anxiety, county workers destroyed three hives of pacific European honeybees at Live Oak Park. A week ago, the nests might very well have been left alone. But with known killers on the loose, hives near where people gather have been rubbed out. On Wednesday, David Kellum, the entomologist with the county's Agriculture, Weights & Measures who netted both of the Africanized bees, watched as two county workers in killer-proof bee suits sprayed pesticide into a nest inside the 8-foot-high cavity of an oak tree beside the park's dance pavilion. In the morning air, too cool for European bees to forage, Kellum talked about the killer buzz. These are his words, condensed. The funny thing is, March 22 these (European) bees are not a threat. Then all of a sudden on March 23 they become a threat. We received 500 calls (about bees) last week. Typical week would be five to 10. But the county is not in the bee-killing business. The private pest control guys are really busy. People have to realize a swarm is not a danger. We had a call yesterday from a woman. A couple of bees got on her car. She called us and wanted to know if we are interested. I said, "Well ma'am, a swarm is a swarm. We can't track it down. We don't have a helicopter or anything to track it down. We don't know where it's going." And she said, "Well, it was going west." We just try to educate people that if a swarm is out there at 3 in the afternoon, it's probably resting for the night, and it will go someplace else. Reduce the sites they can nest on your property. Unless they're nesting, they're not a threat to you at all. People have had bees on their property for years. All of a sudden the neighbor says, "I have kids." Well, he had kids last year, too. All of a sudden the bees become a problem. You can walk by bees visiting flowers and half of them could be Africanized honey bees and you wouldn't know the difference. It's when you walk to the nest -- but that can be avoided. They give you warning. It's not like they swoop out of the sky and attack you. The reason there's a problem in Africa or in the jungle is that people are out there with machetes. You get a bunch of bees with a machete, what do you expect? This here (he points at the hive) is not a rattlesnake hunt or a shark hunt. We can't hunt all the bees down and kill them -- and we're not going to try. This is something that's not going to continue on a large scale. These men are getting practice, but we can't continue to do this either, nor do we intend to. There has to be an Africanized colony here in the park. But it barely functions; it's not very defensive. It takes time to build up. It could be a few thousand bees. If we combed this area, there's a good chance we would not find that nest. In the long run, if we leave the European bees alone, they can mate with the Africanized bees, dilute the genes down to the point where they're not such an aggressive bee. (Logan Jenkins, San Diego Union Tribune, 4/2/99).

San Diego, CA --- LONG-DREADED 'KILLER BEES' ARRIVE IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY --- They're heeeere. Africanized honeybees -- blamed for stinging five Americans to death since crossing the Texas border in 1990 and for causing 200 to 300 fatalities in Latin America over four decades -- have arrived in San Diego County. Two bees belonging to this fierce hybrid were found March 12, one in Live Oak Park in Fallbrook and the other along Antigua Boulevard in the Tierrasanta community of San Diego. This puts the so-called "killer bees" firmly inside blossoming, irrigated, landscaped and highly populated areas of Southern California, where experts have long predicted they will thrive. But county officials say that with education, preparation and common sense, residents should be able to live with the invading species without falling victim to massive bee attacks. "It means that the entire county is colonized, from desert to coast, and that anywhere we go in San Diego County we could encounter Africanized honeybees," said Jennifer Tierney, spokeswoman for the county Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures. "With the right safety precautions, you can greatly reduce your risk of being stung," she said. "It is not a time for panic. It is a time for caution." And, because the Africanized bees take a year or two to establish the hives that they aggressively defend, residents have a grace period to learn about the insects and "bee-proof" their homes. The bees in Tierrasanta and Fallbrook were netted as part of a twice-yearly countywide survey begun last fall as an early warning device. Experts first predicted that the Africanized bees would arrive in San Diego County early in this decade, but desert dryness and a mountain range slowed them, as did a kind of mite that wedged beneath their exterior armor and sucked out their juices. Their arrival was announced only yesterday because the captured bees had to be analyzed by Sacramento laboratories of the state Department of Food and Agriculture to determine if they were Africanized. Though somewhat smaller than resident European honeybees, Africanized bees cannot be distinguished by the naked eye. The Africanized bee found in Tierrasanta may have been from the same general group detected in the summer of 1998 by a researcher for the University of California Davis beside Interstate 8 at the Jacumba offramp. "Our best guess is that the one we found in Tierrasanta probably came through Mission Trails Park. As for the one found in Fallbrook, we are not sure. But we know they are just reproducing and extending their range," Tierney said. The county's Africanized bee hotline (1-800-200-BEES) will be staffed by operators from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning this morning. Callers can obtain information about the bees and learn which pest control companies are trained to eradicate them. "If there are bees on people's property and it is not an emergency situation, they should just call a pest control company to get rid of them," Tierney said. If people are being stung by many bees in an emergency situation, they should call 911, she said. Africanized honeybees were created in Brazil in the mid-1950s when scientists crossed pure African bees, which are accustomed to heat but are very aggressive, with the more docile European bees, which hate heat but produce more honey. The idea was to create a heat-tolerant bee that would produce lots of honey. The hybrid that resulted instead is a super-aggressive form that produces less honey and prefers warmer areas. In 1957, some of the hybrid bees escaped, or were released, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Since then, descendants have advanced north at 200 to 300 miles per year, leaving a trail of human victims in Latin America. Most victims had disturbed bee nests, were stung hundreds of times, and had no means of escape or access to emergency medical care. The "killer bees" entered Texas in 1990 and Arizona in 1993. Their first U.S. victim was an 82-year-old man who died in August 1993 after being stung 40 times while trying to burn out a colony at his Texas home. Africanized bees only become violent when they fear their hives and young are in danger. But they seem to establish their hives where people are likely to disturb them -- for example, in mailboxes, outdoor utility boxes, old tires, holes in the ground, long-standing trash, attics, under porches, even inside the walls of houses, with pencil-sized holes allowing them access. They also are very sensitive to disturbances. In some cases, vibrations from a gasoline-powered lawn mower dozens of feet away have been enough of an irritant to provoke a mass attack. "Bee-proofing" a home involves removing or blocking places where they might nest. Sealing holes in outer walls, removing piles of trash and old tires, and screening attic vents are suggested. The cardinal rule is: Do not attempt to remove bees. Africanized bees attack in the hundreds and pursue their enemies for up to half a mile, it has been reported. The Africanized bee found in Tierrasanta was across Antigua Boulevard from Kumeyaay Elementary School, where this week the 539 students were given letters and brochures about the bees to take to their parents. "We have talked to the staff and the kids in the classrooms," said Principal Robert Jones. "If there are swarms that are stinging, they know to evacuate the playground. There is a multipurpose room adjacent to the playground, and the kids and adults have been told to evacuate to that room." Students and parents appear to be taking the news in stride, he said. "We just want to make sure that the kids and parents know we are aware of the issue, that we don't want it to become a major issue, and to know that we are protecting the kids as well as we can," he said. (Steve La Rue, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/25/99).

San Diego, CA --- KILLER BEES COLONIZE SAN DIEGO --- Killer bees have officially arrived in San Diego. The Africanized honey bees have been found in Tierrasanta and Fallbrook. Agriculture officials say the bees were caught during routine surveys. They were sent to Sacramento where D-N-A tests determined at least two were of the Africanized strain. There have been NO reports of any people or animals being stung by the aggressive bees in San Diego. (States News Service, 3/25/99).

Orange County, CA --- KILLER BEES' PRESENCE CONFIRMED IN 4 O.C. CITIES --- Officials say eliminating the insects is impossible, so it's best to avoid them. The wait is over: Killer bees have invaded Orange County. The aggressive insects, known for their short tempers and mass attacks on people and animals, have been confirmed in Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Seal Beach and La Palma, Orange County agricultural officials say. And more colonies probably will turn up in other cities as countywide trapping for the bees continues. Unlike another recent invader, red imported fire ants, the killer bees - also known as Africanized bees - offer no possibility of eradication. They are part of a migration wave that has spread across South and Central America, Mexico and the Southwestern United States since their accidental release in Brazil in 1957. "Regulation won't work, killing off the bees won't work," said entomologist Eric Mussen of the University of California, Davis, who was in Orange County on Wednesday to help coordinate a public-education campaign. "We'd prefer that people knew more about Africanized honeybees so they don't accidentally stumble into an Africanized colony and get stung." Just how the bees got to Orange County is so far uncertain. But the county had been surrounded by bee colonies in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, so agricultural authorities knew it was only a matter of time before they showed up here. They could have come from the east, through passes or canyons in the Santa Ana Mountains. A more plausible route, however, would be from the north. Southern Los Angeles County was declared colonized by the bees in January, and the bees would have encountered no geographic barriers as they moved south. The first of the Los Angeles County bees may have arrived separately, aboard cargo ships coming to port, later merging with the migration wave that has been pushing slowly across California since its arrival in Blythe in 1994. (Pat Brennan, The Orange County Register, 3/2599).

Orange County, CA --- KILLER BEES FOUND IN ORANGE COUNTY --- So-called killer bees are sighted in Orange County. A genetic analysis of bees found in four cities has turned up evidence of the Africanized honeybees. The cities tested were Seal Beach, Garden Grove, La Palma and Costa Mesa. The news was announced at a bee task force meting in San Diego. And it comes just a few months after the discovery of another invasive, stinging pest in Orange County, the fire ant. The bees also have been found in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties in cities ranging from Corona to Rancho Palos Verdes. (States News Service, 3/24/99).

Knox City, TX ---KNOX COUNTY ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST FOR AFRICANIZED BEES --- Knox county has been added to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees there. The addition of Knox county makes 110 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Jackson said this is the time of year that honeybees are active and more likely to be seen. Two counties in Texas were quarantined earlier this month and, Jackson said, rainfall around the state will promote flower blooming which leads to increased bee activity. Some areas of the state remain critically dry, however. A wild colony of bees was found in a building on land about 8 miles northeast of Knox City. Jackson said no one was stung by the bees. Bees were collected and sent to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Identification Lab where they were confirmed as Africanized. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M, 3/22/99).

Burbank, CA --- BEES HAVE US BUZZING --- Brian O'Hern was working in the back yard of his Burbank home Tuesday when a swarm of "thousands" of bees swirled around his house. He ran inside immediately. He said he wasn't taking any chances just a day after tests confirmed Africanized honeybees had arrived in Calabasas, marking the colonization of the San Fernando Valley by the ill-tempered insects. "It sounded like a four-wheel-drive truck coming down the road," O'Hern said. "I've been hearing about them for years: they're coming, they're coming, they're coming. I guess they're here." For county officials, O'Hern's report was just one of up to 60 a day they are receiving from a jittery public -- so many they said they can respond immediately only to emergency calls. O'Hern will have to wait, but agricultural officials, police, firefighters and schools in the San Fernando Valley say they are prepared for the worst. "We're all ready," said Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner Cato Fiksdal. "We just hope the public doesn't overreact. But we also hope they won't just take it in stride. Everyone needs to be informed because we are going to have to live with them." O'Hern did the right thing. He reported the bee sighting to Los Angeles County Vector Control at (800) 925-3800, or he could have called (800) BEE-WARY. If a nest is found, it will be destroyed and the bees will be sent to a lab to determine if they are Africanized. If there is no immediate threat, the agency asks residents to wait 24 hours to see whether the swarm is settling in or just passing through. Also known as killer bees, the insects are a serious threat when someone disrupts the hive or swarm. A single Africanized bee sting is no worse than a regular bee sting, but typically thousands strike at once. "Unfortunately, if history holds, someone along the way or some pet orotlines and even test their battle plans in action. Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Terry Manning jumped at the chance to test his agency's new bee-fighting plans when firefighters stumbled across a hive while battling a blaze in the Wilshire area three years ago. Agitated by the fire and smoke, the bees were swarming. "Citizens were standing around watching and we had thousands of bees coming out of this garage," Manning said. "It certainly wasn't the Africanized killer bees, but it was a large hive of bees who were agitated by all the smoke and fire. We had just gotten this new equipment so we decided to try it out." Firefighters donned special bee nets over their helmets, taped up the openings on their sleeves and pants with duct tape and then hosed the bees with wet water, a special solution (similar to dishwasher soap) that helps water soak rapidly into anything -- including bee wings. "The bees dropped, no problem," Manning said. Firefighters also can use a standard firefighting foam to ground the bees. "It has a remarkable effect," said Brian Humphrey, Fire Department spokesman. "However, I must add, bees are a vital part of our ecosystem and we don't destroy them indiscriminately." At Pomelo Elementary School in West Hills, the kids passed their first bee tests with flying colors. Principal Marcee Seegan said students have twice reported swarms on the school playground to teachers. "It's almost like an annual spring arrival -- the bees show up and start bothering the boys and girls at lunch," Seegan said. "The teachers have talked to them and they know to report any unusual bee activity. "The boys and girls are real good," Seegan said. "They know not to go into that area and not to throw rocks at them." Pete Anderson, director of Emergency Services for the Los Angeles Unified School District, now includes killer bee safety information in his emergency training classes for teachers and principals. L.A. schools and community colleges received a shipment of updated killer bee pamphlets Monday. "We've had . . . a kid stung by a bee, but this threat seems to be many bees," Anderson said. "If it were to happen, our schools know to go into a lockdown situation: Close the windows, close the doors and call for help." And even though the brass at the Los Angeles Police Department has been slow in turning out its official killer bee protocol, officers on the street were receiving bee training as early as 1996. An agency spokesman wasn't sure what officers were being instructed to do. Back in 1996, the advice was simple: Run. "The Africanized honeybees are bees with attitude," Sgt. Roger Deranian told a group of officers in June 1996. "They will come after you en masse. Hopefully, you're in good shape because your only defense is to run away." African bees escaped from a Brazilian agriculture research station in 1957 and began breeding with local European honeybees. The result: Africanized honeybees. They are virtually indestinguishable from European bees -- except in their behavior. The Africanized bees got the "killer" moniker because they tend to defend their hive by launching massive, persistent attacks. Swarms will chase a victim up to a quarter mile, compared with a few hundred yards for regular bees, and have been known to wait if their victim ducks underwater. Five people in the United States have died from killer bee attacks, most recently in April 1997 in Casa Grande, Ariz. According to county reports, there have been 30 stinging incidents in California since bees crossed the state line in 1994. No human fatalities have been reported in California, but a dog was killed in San Bernardino County in February when it disturbed a nest in a pepper tree. The discovery of a killer bee nest in a Calabasas oak tree means an additional 668-square-mile chunk of the county has fallen to the ill-tempered hybrid. "They're not geared to honey production. They're geared to population growth," explained John Hurley, the county agriculture department's bee expert. "From what I understand, it takes about two to three years for them to become firmly established in an area. Then you'll be able to find them just about everywhere." The recent warm weather has bees -- Africanized and European -- on the move. On March 5, an alert gardener found a swarm in an oak tree near Park Ora and Park Helena in Calabasas and called county vector control officials. The nest was destroyed and a few bees were kept for genetic testing. Tests showed they were killer bees and, based on the bees' flying range, officials can safely say Africanized bees will now start turning up all over the San Fernando Valley. "The assumption is when somebody calls us, they do have the Africanized bees," said Jack Hazelrigg, vector control district manager. It's a common assumption. Years of media hype, B-movies about killer swarms and a plenty of recent publicity makes for a lot of nervous Angelenos. City and county officials say they're getting swarmed with phone calls. One man called the county killer bee hotline (800-BEE-WARY) three times. He found a bee in his house. Not a marauding swarm. Just one bee. He wasn't sure what to do. The correct answer is nothing. Another call: A woman reported she killed a bee in her bathroom. "She didn't know what to do with it," Hurley said. "It's dead. Who cares?" (Phil Davis, Daily News Los Angeles, 3/17/99).

Calabasas, CA --- KILLER BEES IDENTIFIED IN COLONY SEEN IN CALABASAS --- A colony of killer bees has been found in Calabasas, meaning the aggressive insects probably have spread throughout the San Fernando Valley, county officials said Monday. The March 5 discovery of a hive of Africanized honey bees in an oak tree in Calabasas marks the farthest north the bees have been reported in Los Angeles County since first being sighted in Lawndale last fall. As a result, county agricultural officials believe the bees now have colonized 40% of the county, and will probably complete their march north by the end of the year. "They're moving quite, quite rapidly into new areas," said Robert Donley, deputy director of the county agriculture department. Residents should be careful about being around colonies or even a swarm of bees." There have been no reported attacks in Los Angeles County by the bees, which are much more aggressive than their European counterparts. However, a gardener was stung more than 90 times in San Bernardino last year after startling a hive with a weed cutter. At least five people in the southern United States have been killed by the bees, which can attack in a swarming mass. In the latest sighting, a gardener working near the intersection of Park Ora and Park Helena in Calabasas discovered the bees flying in and out of an oak tree on the grounds of a private residence, according to county agriculture officials. The bees were killed on-site as a precaution, but state officials didn't confirm that the insects were Africanized honey bees until completing a DNA test last week. Since the bees were found so far north from previous sightings in the southern part of the county, the DNA testing was done to confirm identification, officials said. Colonies or swarms of bees have been found in Commerce, Lynwood, Santa Fe Springs, El Segundo and Rancho Palos Verdes, as well as the communities of Del Aire and Lennox Park. "What this tells us is that we probably have a number of other hives and swarms out there," said Robert Saviskas, executive director of the Los Angeles County West Vector Control District. The bees have also been found in Riverside County, though they have not yet been reported in Orange County. County officials urged residents to call county bee specialists to report suspected hives or swarms of bees. Residents seeking more information on the bees can call the agriculture department's county hotline: (800) BEE WARY. Those seeking to have the bees removed may also call the vector control district's hotline: (800) 925-3800. (T. CHRISTIAN MILLER, Los Angeles Times, 3/16/99).

Calabasas, CA --- KILLER BEES IN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY --- Killer bees have colonized in the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles County agriculture officials confirm that a swarm of Africanized honeybees were found in an oak tree in Calabasas. That means 40 percent of Los Angeles County is now colonized by the fierce hybrid bee. The bees were first discovered in the southern L-A community of Lawndale on November 28th. (States News Service, 3/16/99).

Abilene, TX --- TAYLOR COUNTY ADDED TO LIST OF QUARANTINE FOR AFRICANIZED VARIETY --- Don’t bee-ware: Africanized honeybees are in Taylor County, but they are not "killer bees". Taylor and Hamilton counties were added to the 107 counties in Texas already quarantined for Africanized honeybees, said Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agriculture Experiment Station. A swarm was discovered on February 18 at the Spanish Village Apartments on Hartford Street in Abilene. No one was injured. A colony of bees was found on a tree about 7 miles west of Hamilton. A man was stung about 13 times and a dog was stung numerous times while being chased about 1,000 yards. A chainsaw apparently had alarmed the bees, according to a report issued by the Texas Agriculture Experiment Station. Bees from both of these swarms were sent to the Honey Bee ID Lab at Texas A&M University in College Station. There, the bees were tested and confirmed to be Africanized. These may not be the first Africanized bees in Taylor County, but this is the first reported instance of natural migration. Natural migration is what constitutes a need for quarantine, said Kathleen Phillips, communications specialist with Texas Agriculture Experiment Station. The quarantine will not have an effect on most people in Taylor County. The quarantine means no one is allowed to transport bees or beekeeping equipment across county lines without first obtaining certification to prove that the bees are not Africanized, Phillips said. The most important thing the quarantine does for the general public is to make them aware that these bees are around and that they are swarming. It is important to understand that the bees are not swarming because they are Africanized, she said. Bees swarm in the spring and fall. This simply means they are looking for a place to build a new hive. Usually, bees are least likely to sting when they are swarming or in the process of building a new hive, Phillips said. When bees are swarming, they are homeless and usually pretty docile, because they have nothing to defend. Most of the time, if they are left alone, they will move on to establish a hive elsewhere, said Charles Bloomer, a local beekeeper. "Africanized bees are not bad if you avoid them," said Phillips. "Just don’t let them build a house next to yours." If you discover a swarm or a hive near your house, you can call the fire department or your local Agriculture Extension Service. Depending on the situation, the fire department can come out and kill the bees. If you call the Extension office, they can give you the name and phone number of some area beekeepers who may want to retrieve the bees. Once a hive has been established, bees will sting when they feel their hive, offspring or honey are being threatened, Phillips said. As was the case in Hamilton, loud equipment alarms bees, and makes them more likely to sting. "Mowers and weed eaters agitate any bee instantly," said Will Moon, a local beekeeper. Once the bees are upset, it is important to remember this advice: -- Get as far away from the hive as possible, as fast as possible. A European bee will usually chase a person about half the length of a football field, but the Africanized bee may pursue a person 100 to 150 yards. -- Seek shelter in a building or vehicle. If this is not possible, run through heavy brush or high weeds. --- Do not swat at them. When a bee’s body is damaged by swatting, it releases an odor that incites other bees to come to its aid and attack. --- Do not "freeze." Bees will still sting you even if you are not moving. --- Do not try to escape by jumping into water. The bees will likely be waiting for you when you come up for air. For more information about Africanized honeybees, you may contact your local Extension office, or the Extension service’s Web site at http://agnews.tamu.edu/bees/. It is impossible, even for a trained entomologist, to determine if a bee is a European or Africanized honeybee simply by looking at it. That is why people are urged to use common sense, stay away from all bees, and treat them all as though they could be Africanized honeybees. (Emilee Trlica, Abilene News Reporter, 3/11/99).

Salt Lake City, UT --- TEEN SURVIVES BEE ATTACK --- A Utah teenager says she is lucky to be alive after a run-in with "killer bees." Fifteen-year-old Jocelyn Matsuo was stung by bees 250-times during a school trip to Costa Rica. The teenager stumbled upon the nest of Africanized honeybees during a hiking expedition on the Pacific Coast last week. She returned home to Utah on Monday.(States News Service, 3/10/99).

College Station, TX --- TWO COUNTIES ADDED TO QUARANTINE LIST FOR AFRICANIZED BEES --- Two counties today were added to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees. The addition of Hamilton and Taylor counties makes 109 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. "We are beginning to see more bee activities because it is the spring of the year," said Jackson who oversees a series of traplines that are monitored across Texas. "And if we start getting some rain, we might pick up more bee activity. When flowers bloom, bees pick up and swarm. We may not have as much as usual this year because of the drought, but still bees get active as the weather warms." A wild colony of bees was found on a tree about 7 miles west of Hamilton after one man was stung about 13 times and a dog was stung numerous times while being chased about 1,000 yards. A chainsaw apparently had alarmed the bees which were living nearby. At a residence in Abilene, a swarm of bees was found under an overhang of a detached garage. No people or animals were reported stung in that case. Bees from both sightings were collected and sent to Texas A&M's Honey Bee Identification Lab where they were confirmed as Africanized. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M University, 3/9/99).

Los Angeles, CA --- EIGHT SWARMS AND COLONIES OF POSSIBLE AFRICANIZED BEES FOUND IN PAST MONTH IN LA COUNTY --- Four colonies of what may have been Africanized "killer" bees were killed in suburbs of Los Angeles during February, a fifth swarm avoided efforts to kill it, and three more swarms were reported during the past weekend. There were no reports of any person being stung, officials said Monday. The newest swarms of bees were found just south of Los Angeles, two in Lynwood and another in Commerce, according to the Greater Los Angeles Vector Control District. Colonies were destroyed in February in Rancho Palos Verdes Feb. 4, Del Aire Feb. 14, Lennox Park Feb. 16 and El Segundo Feb. 21, said a report by Cato Fiksdal, interim agricultural chief. A swarm of bees was trying to enter the attic of City Hall in Santa Fe Springs, southeast of Los Angeles, on two occasions Feb. 23, but the swarm left before the bees could be killed. By the end of January state and county health officials had declared over 1,000 square miles of the southern portions of Los Angeles County, including 76 cities and 23 unincorporated areas, as "colonized" by aggressive bees. "Now that these bees are in the area, we expect to see more activity as the weather warms up," said Jack Hazelrigg, manager of the regional vector control district. "When a bee is out foraging for nectar, it generally won't sting unless it is swatted or disturbed," Hazelrigg said. "It's only when a person disturbs a nest or swarm that he or she risks multiple stings that can be life-threatening." Authorities believe many of the bees "hitchhiked" to the county, possibly by ship from Central America, and others migrated from 34,000 square miles of southernmost counties of California where Africanized bee colonies have become established. There have been no deaths from killer bee stings reported in California. The last of six deaths from such bees nationwide occurred at a mobile home in Casa Grande, Ariz., in 1997, officials have said. (AP, 3/2/99).

Los Angeles County, CA --- AFRICANIZED BEES FOUND IN 7 MORE COMMUNITIES --- Africanized honey bees have colonized at least seven more cities in the county. Swarms or colonies of the so-called killer bees were found in the cities of Commerce, Lynwood, Santa Fe Springs, El Segundo and Rancho Palos Verdes, as well as the communities of Del Aire and Lennox Park, the county Department of Agriculture said. In February, six swarms and one colony were killed in these areas. Two swarms escaped. Africanized honey bees have colonized 1,010 square miles of the county--about 25%--and are expected to colonize the entire county by the end of the year, said Robert Donley, a deputy director in the county agriculture department. (Los Angeles Times, 3/2/99).

Mexico City, Mexico --- SCHOOL EVACUATED AS 'KILLER BEES' ATTACK --- An attack of so-called killer bees sparked panic at an elementary school in the Mexican resort of Acapulco and sent 10 children and two teachers to the hospital with stings, news broadcasts said Wednesday. Pupils, teachers and neighbors were evacuated from the area in the southwestern coastal town after the Africanized bees, which attack in great numbers at the slightest provocation, descended on the school grounds Tuesday, Televisa said. Police sped to the Acapulco school as the bees swarmed. Ten children and two teachers were sent to a nearby clinic. A total of at least 30 children were injured. Several people have died in Argentina and Costa Rica in recent years after receiving enormous numbers of stings from the insects, and livestock have also been stung to death. Africanized bees are a hybrid of European honeybees and an aggressive African import introduced to Brazil in 1956 for interbreeding. But 26 colonies escaped into the forest near the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo in 1957. That front of Africanized bees has moved steadily north through Latin America at a rate of about 300 miles (480 km) a year. Mexico is already colonized and in 1990 the Africanized bees reached Texas. (Reuters, 2/17/99).

West Covina, CA --- 'KILLER' BEES CHOOSE COUNTRY CLUB LIFE --- Campbell Wright had heard about the "killer" bees. Now he can say he has seen them. A swarm of the Africanized honey bees was discovered on Jan. 25 near the South Hills Country Club, where Wright is the general manager. Identical to domestic honey bees to the naked eye, the insects were determined to be Africanized bees Tuesday through DNA testing. Africanized bees also have slightly smaller wings, a difference that can only be seen under a microscope and with a large sample. "I wasn't surprised," Wright said about the recent announcement. "I think we've always had bees here. But nobody knocked on my door and said you've got killer bees in your club." While their sting is no more deadly than a regular honey bee, they will pursue an attacker for greater distances, according to an information packet provided by the County Environmental Protection Bureau. The killer bees are also more aggressive in defending their hive. The bees were discovered by Bob Malinzak, a private beekeeper, who stumbled onto the swarm in a residential back yard near the country club. "It was a tiny swarm, the size of a tiny grapefruit," Malinzak said. "There were about 1,500 bees." Malinzak was the one who actually killed the bees. He put them to sleep and transferred them into a freezer bag before putting them on ice. He gave 50 for DNA testing and kept the rest of them. "I have the [dead] bees," he said. "I'm going to go in there and see if I have the queen." The discovery of the Africanized bees was the first in the Valley. The closest previous discovery was in Fontana in September 1998. The bees are descendants from African bees that escaped in Brazil in 1956. Since then, the bees have migrated further north each year. "They're moving this direction," said Cato Fiksdal, an agricultural commissioner with the Environmental Protection Bureau. "They've come all the way from Mexico and Arizona." (Paul Clinton, Los Angeles Times, 2/12/99).

Rio Honda, Argentina --- AFRICANIZED BEES IMPLICATED IN NORTHERN ARGENTINA FATALITIES --- Africanized bees, or so-called killer bees, stung a mother and her daughter to death in northern Argentina during a violent weekend attack. Four other family members were taken to a hospital after they were stung by the bees at an elementary school near the tourist town of Rio Hondo, in the northern province of Santiago del Estero. Survivors escaped by throwing water at the insects. (Steve Newman, CNN Earthweek, 2/5/99).

Las Vegas, NV - KILLER BEES THRIVE ON COLD WEATHER - The latest map from the Department of Agriculture shows killer bees on the move. First, in Laughlin last April, then up to Boulder City and here in Las Vegas by last August. Now, the first killer bee swarm of 1999 has been found. It’s a sign of what could be a long and dangerous year. One heaping handful of killer bees is just one small sample of the bees’ large- scale invasion of Southern Nevada in 1998. “I don’t know how many there are in here,” says John Sterling of Sterling Pest Control. “Maybe two hundred in here.” But now, any doubts of the bees’ ability to adapt to cold weather are gone. The first swarm of the year showed up Friday up on a crisp winter morning in Boulder City. “They’re adapting very well to our climate, extremely well. At the end of this month we could start having real problems, or even in the middle of this month, but they’re here to stay,” says Sterling. And that means it’s time to learn how to live with killer bees. When it comes to killer bees, now is the time to prepare yourself and that means protecting your home. If you have any spaces larger than an eighth of an inch like the crack around this mesh, plug it up and especially in cinder block fences. If you have any hole in your grout, that’s a great place for killer bees. It may sound stupid, but think like a bee. If you can find a hole in your house or yard big enough for a bee, plug it. For the Department of Agriculture, pickled beets are now pickled bees, and Skippy “Beenut” Butter. The jarred bee samples are from swarms discovered in 1998; clues that we’ll soon be buzzing in 1999. So be forewarned to be prepared for killer bees and be aware of the dangers. We told you how a swarm attacked two dogs in Boulder City back in September of last year. One of the dogs died. The bees had moved into a neighbor’s abandoned bee hives. Here are some safety tips to prevent an attack around your home: If you are confronted by bees, cover your face, use clothes to protect your eyes and mouth from the bees, leave the area quickly; an attack could last until you vacate the area, and, seek shelter. Go to a place where bees cannot enter, such as a car, house, or another building. Both Nevada’s Agriculture Department and the Pest Control Association have set up killer bee hotlines. The numbers are 486-4690 and 385-5853. (MSNBC, 2/2/99).

Lawndale, CA --- ANOTHER COLONY OF AFRICANIZED BEES FOUND - A second colony of Africanized bees has been found here in an apartment building wall, with other individual bees found in neighboring cities. The find of the second colony confirms suspicions that some bees swarmed from the first colony before it was exterminated around Christmas, said John Hurley, Los Angeles County's bee inspector. But the discovery of more killer bees in southern areas of the county comes as no surprise to inspectors, Hurley said. "This just sort of reinforced our opinion that there were some established colonies out there," he said. The county was declared colonized by Africanized bees soon after the first Lawndale hive was found, about 16 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. "The initial find was significant. Once you declare an area colonized, you expect to find colonies in it," Hurley said. The inspector also said he recently found foraging bees in Carson, Redondo Beach and Torrance. More than 34,000 square miles across California have been colonized with killer bees, including all of Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and parts of San Diego County. (AP, 2/2/99).

Palm Desert, CA --- SWARM OF ‘KILLER’ BEES FOUND IN PALM DESERT --- Another swarm of Africanized honey bees was discovered Wednesday in Palm Desert. More than 25,000 bees were found in the wall of a home at the Palm Desert Country Club. The “Killer Bee Swarm Removal” company was called to carefully remove the siding of the home and vacuum the bees out of the wall. The homeowners were not injured by the bees. Experts said desert residents need to be extra cautious around the bees -- and never spray them with water or bug spray. (MSNBC, 1/21/99).

Los Angeles, CA --- KILLER BEE FEARS SPUR ALLERGY WARNING --- Health officials are warning people allergic to honeybee venom to get ready since killer bee’s have already started to invade Los Angeles County. Africanized bees from Central America and San Bernardino are expected to colonize the entire county by year’s end. A colony of Africanized honeybees was found in the wall of an apartment building in Lawndale on Dec. 7, and a swarm was detected at an ARCO oil refinery in Carson on Nov. 4. One colony “hitchhiked” from ships visiting Central America, while Colonies migrating to the area from the East have gotten as close as Fontana in San Bernardino County.The area declared “colonized” Jan. 12 covers 1,010 square miles of the county, including 76 cities and 23 unincorporated areas. The bees’ presence increases the risk of a deadly sting for people allergic to honeybee venom, said Cathy Pollack, a spokesperson for the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America’s Southern California chapter. Those allergic to bee stings could be killed by the bites of other bees also. Anyone allergic to honeybee venom should ask their doctor about venom immunotherapy. Medical experts consider the series of shots more than 95 percent effective in protecting people with the bee allergy. For more information about Africanized honeybees and allergic reactions, call the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America’s Southern California chapter at (800) 624-0044. Five people nationwide have been killed by killer bees. The last death was of a 72-year-old man in Casa Grande, Ariz. He was attacked in his mobile home in April 1997. (MSNBC, 1/21/99).

Sacramento, CA --- KILLER BEES HAVE INFESTED MOST OF L.A. COUNTY, OFFICIAL SAYS. --- Killer bees have colonized most of Los Angeles County, the county's agricultural chief said Tuesday. The area colonized by Africanized honey bees covers 1,010 square miles, including 76 cities and 23 unincorporated areas, with the entire county to be declared colonized by the end of the year, said Cato Fiksdal, chief of the Agriculture Department. "The declaration of colonization does not really change anything but puts the county residents and agencies on a higher level of alert regarding the presence of the bees," he said. The first known colony in the county was found in December in a Lawndale apartment building, about 16 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Five people are known to have died from killer bee stings nationwide, the last in April 1997 when a 72-year-old man was attacked at his mobile home in Casa Grande, Arizona. More than 34,000 square miles across California have been colonized with killer bees, including all of Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and parts of San Diego County. (AP, 1/12/99).

Palm Desert, CA --- KILLER BEES INVOLVED IN DOG'S DEATH --- The type of bees involved in the death of a Coachella Valley dog last week, were identified by bee removal experts. The bees, who attacked two dogs at a Candlewood residence in Palm Desert Friday, leaving one dog dead, were identified as African killer bees and European honey bees. According to officials, the bees may not be the only reason the dog died. ““I think the dog was stung enough to die, but the leash was wrapped so tight, I think the dog may have pulled away and snapped it’s neck,”” said Lance Davis, master beekeeper. The Killer Bee Swarm Removal Company claim they could have saved the dog’s life and a lot of bees if they had been called sooner. (States News Service, 1/4/99).

Palm Desert, CA --- BEES ATTACK DOGS IN PALM DESERT --- A tragic beginning of the new year for one Palm Desert family, after their dog is killed by a swarm of bees. Firefighter’s responded to reports that bee’s were attacking dogs in the Palm Desert area Friday afternoon. When they arrived on the scene, they found one dog dead and two others stinging injuries. Authorities can not confirm at this time whether or not the bees are in fact 'killer bees' -- but claim that samples are being sent to labs for testing as soon as possible. (States News Service, 1/1/99).

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