ARCHIVE: 2005 AHB NEWS REPORTED IN THE MEDIA

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

DEPUTIES, SUSPECTS ATTACKED BY SWARM OF BEES

LANTANA, FL --- At least nine sheriff's deputies and three would-be burglars were attacked by a swarm of bees during a foot chase through a wooded area west of Lantana this afternoon, authorities said.

Three deputies were so badly stung that they had to be taken by ambulance to local hospitals for treatment, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

The incident happened about 12:30 p.m. after a woman confronted three girls who were trying to break into her house at 6602 Waverly Lane in the Smith Farm development off Lantana Road, sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.

Deputies responded to her 911 call and chased the girls on foot. The chase led them through a wooded area, where the girls and eight or nine deputies were stung, along with a sheriff's K-9.

All were treated by Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue for their injuries. Only the three deputies required hospital treatment.

The three girls were arrested on charges of attempted burglary, Barbera said. (Andrew Marra, Palm Beach Post, 12/17/05.)

KILLER BEES FOUND IN TORRANCE COUNTY

ALBUQUERQUE, NM --- Africanized bees have been found in central New Mexico.

A Cooperative Extension Service entomologist in Las Cruces, Carol Sutherland, says the bees were found near several homes in the Estancia area of Torrance Couty last month.

She says DNA testing confirmed they were the aggressive Africanized species. They’re commonly called “killer” bees.

Africanized bees remain active in winter and can create dangerous swarms.

One swarm attacked three dogs near Las Cruces last month, and a puppy was killed.

Sutherland says the best way to avoid an attack is to reduce where bees can set up hives, such as piles of junk, old tires and abandoned buildings. (AP, 12/3/05.)

AFRICANIZED BEES ATTACK NEAR KAYLER SPRINGS, AZ

KAYLER SPRINGS, AZ - Bee experts at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson believe Africanized honeybees are in Arizona to stay.

Early in the afternoon on Oct. 8, Robert Rupe found out about the bees the hard way while quail hunting in Kayler Butte near Tonto Basin.

"When I got near Kayler Springs, they attacked me. I didn't get to see the water. They were on me before I could get to the water," said Rupe.

"(It) was a really hot day, and I was anticipating getting in that stream and getting cooled off," he said. "I've been an outdoorsman all my life. I've been hunting there 50 years and never encountered anything like this before."

The bees swarmed, then stung Rupe without warning.

"They were just like dive-bombers, kamikazes."

Rupe then had an uphill climb to get away from them. He crossed over two barbed wire fences, getting his legs tangled, and in the process, fell backwards into some cactus.

Tired, thirsty and sick to his stomach, it took him five hours to reach his vehicle.

"I had to use my shotgun as a crutch to get uphill," Rupe said.

He and his wife counted approximately 50 bee stings when he made it home. (The average person can tolerate approximately 10 stings per pound of body weight.)

By Thursday, he couldn't stand the discomfort, and was treated by his doctor with antibiotics and allergy shots.

Rupe wonders who is responsible for removal of the bees, and worries that they are a danger to wildlife that comes to drink at Kayler Springs.

"Most of the bees that are encountered out in the field these days are Africanized bees," said Randy Babb, biologist with Arizona Game and Fish.

"We don't do invertebrates. That's probably the Department of Agriculture."

"Before budget cuts, we actually used to regulate bees. Now we have no jurisdiction over them," said Katie Decker, public information officer at the Arizona Department of Agriculture. "They have been monitored closely at the Tucson bee lab."

Yet the CHBRC is no longer keeping statistics. It does not keep a list of reported sightings or attacks since Arizona was declared infested back in the early 1990s.

"Whoever owns the property is responsible to remove (the bees)," said CHBRC secretary Diane Medley.

Kayler Springs and Butte are located on national forest land, but the forest service considers the bees to be part of the landscape, according to Vinnie Picard, deputy public affairs officer.

"Sometimes we coordinate the removal of bees (with the agriculture department) if the bees are near a rest area or popular trailhead, but in general, probably not," said Picard.

He said he did not believe there was any danger to animals from the bees. (Carol La Valley, The Payson Roundup, 10/21/05.)

BEES PROVE DEADLY IN ATTACK ON DOG

VENICE, FL --- On Friday, new Venice resident Pat Starr lost her 2-year-old puppy to an unusual killer: bees.

And it looks as if the aggressive new mix of the African "Killer" Bee and the typical European honey bee may have found a new home in South Venice.

Starr realized that her mini-daschund mix, J.R., was missing Friday after seeing he had pulled his chain out of the ground. She was horrified at what she found.

"I'll never get that picture out of my head of my dog lying on the ground crying, covered with bees," Starr said through sobs.

J.R. had wandered into the neighbor's back yard, where a large bee hive hung only a few feet off the ground, attached to an old piece of lumber.

Starr did all she could to save her suffering pup.

"I kept telling him that mommy's coming, mommy's coming," Starr cried. "I felt so helpless, I couldn't save him. They killed my dog. He didn't deserve that."

Starr received several bee stings in her attempts to save J.R.

"My husband is still picking stingers out of my face," Starr said. "They're in my face, arms, head -- everywhere."

A nearby neighbor saw Starr trying to save J.R. and came running with a hose to wash the bees off the dog. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done: J.R. had been stung several hundred times.

Starr scooped up her pup and drove him to the nearest hospital.

"I gave him mouth-to-mouth when he was born because he had problems breathing. ... I tried to give him mouth-to-mouth on the way to the vet, too," Starr said.

But this time, Starr could not save her beloved pet.

"He was the sweetest pup in the world," Starr said. "It's not fair. My pup didn't deserve it."

Starr's agonizing experience was made worse when she found out that the neighbor, whose property the nest resided on, had known about the hive and chosen not to remove it.

"Some child could get hurt," Starr said. "Why didn't somebody do something?"

200-300 stings

No one is sure what J.R. could have done to provoke the bees, but according to the Ark Animal Hospital vet and former beekeeper Dr. Robert J. Greenwald, the bees showed no mercy.

"The dog was stung between 200-300 times. ... The thing that concerns me here is that bees are never so aggressive that they sting you 200-300 times," Greenwald said. "Usually you hear of 15-20 stings. It could have easily been an adult or a child."

Greenwald believes that the likelihood that these bees are the Africanized honey bees is very high.

"I think it's very possible that it's Africanized (honey) bees," Greenwald said. "If Africanized (honey) bees are in this area, it's not just that colony that we have to worry about."

Local bee remover and biologist Bob Von Der Herchen agrees that it sounds likely that J.R.'s death was a result of the Africanized honey bee.

Von Der Herchen headed out to Starr's house Monday afternoon to take a sample bee and send it to Texas for genetic testing. This will determine if the bees are, in fact, the Africanized honey bees.

"We are starting to get them in the area ... some in Bradenton and in Lee County," Von Der Herchen said. "It's just a matter of time before they are here, if they are not already. I did encounter, in South Venice, some very aggressive bees recently."

Not the first time

This is not the first time that Florida pets have been killed by an angry swarm of bees.

In early September, a swarm of Africanized honey bees attacked and killed two Miami Gardens dogs. Several residents also were injured, but they narrowly escaped by ducking into a nearby house.

According to an article in the Miami Herald, three adults were taken to the hospital and treated for stings. The article also states that professional apiarist Adrian Valero had destroyed three other Africanized honey bee hives in South Florida within a month of the event in September.

Good news?

Since the hive was not on their property, there was not much the Starrs could do to have it removed. Hiring a pest company would have cost a minimum of $200, on top of the $300 in vet bills they are already facing. Even if the Starrs agreed to pay the removal fee, a pest control company would need permission from the home owner to enter the property.

After calling the county animal control and being turned away because bees are "insects not animals," they took action into their own hands.

The Starrs bought four cans of wasp remover, covered themselves up for protection and emptied the four cans onto the honeycombs. This, of course, is a dangerous way to handle it.

The Starrs were unaware that their efforts had worked until Herchen went out to inspect and remove the bees for free. What he found was that almost all of them were already gone.

This may not be as good as it sounds. Von Der Herchen believes that they have just moved to a new location to build another hive.

"I didn't see any dead bees," Von Der Herchen said.

Starr is happy to have the bees leave her neighborhood, but also fearful that another pet -- or even a child -- may be the next one injured.

Von Der Herchen is awaiting the lab results to verify that these bees were Africanized honey bees. However, even if all the signs are wrong and they turn out to be average honey bees, the fact that they are capable of this kind of destruction is still very alarming, he said.(Christina Elwell, The Venice Gondolier, 10/19/05.)

KILLER BEES ARE A SCIENTIFIC MISTAKE

VENICE, FL --- Back in 1957, a Brazilian scientist thought agricultural practices in his country might be improved if a better bee could be found.

In Africa, he thought he found his bee.

The African honey bee seemed better suited than the prevailing European honey bee for Brazil's hot climate. So the scientist purchased a number of bees and brought them to Brazil.

There was one queen in particular that seemed nastier even than the other ill-tempered bees. She had the others killed off until she reigned over the colony. And it was this queen -- the mother of all killer bees -- that escaped her captivity and began feral colonies in Brazilian forests.

From there, the bees spread throughout South, Central and North America, many hitching rides on cargo ships. They arrived in the United States in October 1990, in Texas.

On July 15, 1993, 82-year-old Lino Lopez became the first person to die in this country from a killer bee attack. He was trying to remove a bee colony from the wall of an abandoned building when he was swarmed.

Every year since, newspapers have carried the stories of attacks and deaths. The best archive is at stingshield.com with accounts from 1996 forward. The summaries that follow are from those accounts. There are hundreds more.

* In Los Angeles, Calif., tens of thousands of bees attacked a neighborhood and firefighters cordoned off a four-block area. Thirteen people were stung and two dogs killed by the bees. "It was pandemonium," the fire chief said of the scene. "Everywhere you looked, bees were attacking."

* In Bisbee, Ariz., a swarm of Africanized bees attacked pedestrians, motorists -- even pigeons in flight. "I have never experienced or heard anything like what happened here today -- the panic, the fear," said Sgt. Ben Reyna of the Bisbee Police Department.

* In Tucson, Ariz., a woman who had complained of problem bees in a vacant house next door watched her black Labrador be stung to death. "The bees were in his mouth and ears and eyes, and his whole body was just brown with bees. It was a living nightmare, like you see in the movies," Carole Davies said.

* In Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 4-year-old boy was swarmed by killer bees while playing with his dog, Chocolate. Police said the dog knocked the boy down and jumped atop him, shielding him from the bees as it endured the stings. Kharin Toloza lived; Chocolate was killed by the bees.

* In Mesa, Ariz., an 88-year-old man was stung in the face by a swarm of more than 100 bees in a scene straight from a science-fiction movie. "I would describe him as having a hive of bees on his face. You could not see his eyes or his nose," said Mesa firefighter Chris Mapel. "It was like a hive being taken out of a tree and placed on his head."

* In Newberry Springs, Calif., killer bees took residence in a lakeside child's playhouse and attacked as two small girls went inside it. A parent grabbed the girls and threw them into the lake. Two men held the girls under water and the men were stung repeatedly. "They'd go in the water and the bees just hung on," a witness said. "They got in their nose, their ears, their mouths and just wouldn't let go." Everyone survived. A 4-year-old "had them in her nose, her tongue, even had them in her eyelids," a doctor said.

* In Scottsdale, Ariz., a man under attack by a swarm of bees ran into traffic and was struck by a car. He survived. In Ahwatukee, Ariz., a 13-year-old boy attacked by a swarm of bees ran into traffic. He was struck and killed by a van.

* In Richmond, Texas, a rancher on his tractor was attacked. He fell off the tractor and was fatally run over by a shredder being towed. In Houston, Texas, a man operating a bulldozer jumped off after a bee swarm attacked him. The bulldozer continued on and ran over him, crushing him to death.

* In Parker County, Texas, Mike Kavanaugh was mowing his pasture when attacked. His daughter, Ashley, 19, found him. "He was covered from head to toe with bees," she said. Kavanaugh was partially paralyzed. The bees brought him down as he tried to reach his wheelchair.

* In Sunizona, Ariz., Ted Richard and Cheryl McClain were soon to be married and were preparing to move into a house next to her father's. They were placing material in a shed. Ted heard screams. He turned to see Cheryl covered with bees, which attacked him. Both fell to the ground in agony. "She had a water hose," he said from a hospital bed, "trying to spray herself off and then she stopped and looked at me. She goes, 'I love you Ted' and I said 'I love you too, Cheryl, it'll be all right, Cheryl.' And then she just dropped. That was it." She was 46.

* In El Campo, Texas, Francis Hernandez was enjoying a family picnic in her back yard when a swarm of killer bees struck her. Her mother was asleep nearby. "I opened my eyes and it was nothing but a cloud of bees around her," the mother said. "Francis had bees all over her. It was like a nightmare. I still can't believe it." Francis was blind and mentally handicapped. She was 36 when she died. (Robert Bowden, Venice Gondolier, 10/19/05.)

"KILLER" BEES STRIKE CLOSER TO COLORADO

SANTE FE, NM - Joel Simko danced wildly across the roof of the house, spinning and hopping past the chimney and frantically waving his long arms over his head. Soon, the lanky man's dance was accompanied by a great chorus of loud screaming and cursing as a swarm of bees dove onto his head and face.

His ladder was leaned up against the gutter, and he hit the top rung on a dead run. The ladder slid, and the pest-control worker found himself plunging 15 feet toward the ground, bolts of pain shooting through his face and neck as the roar of the swarm grew louder around his head.

In a scientific discovery of some note, Simko unwittingly found what entomologists believe is one of the northernmost hives of Africanized bees in the western United States, a huge swarm that had settled into a gated community just north of this art mecca.

On a slightly less-scientific note, Simko floundered on the ground, shrieking and thrashing as the attack raged on.

He fought back with the only weapon he had - a baseball cap, swinging it to get the bees off his face.

"When they got me down, they really came after me," he said. "It was like they knew they had me in a vulnerable position."

A fine observation, according to New Mexico State University entomologist and African bee expert Carol Sutherland.

"These bees," she said, "are rank, rugged, wild animals. They attack the eyes and head of whatever they perceive as a threat.

"They try to disorient their attacker and stop it from running away. And then they get it down on the ground, and they overwhelm it and kill it."

Simko got lucky on that hot August day. He fought his way back to his feet and lurched 25 yards back to his truck. But the fight wasn't over. A number of bees pursued him into the truck through an open door. Simko said six of them quickly stung his face and head.

As he slammed the door and pounded away at those bees with his hat, hundreds of others massed on the windows and windshield, searching for a crack that would get them inside.

"It was like being in a science fiction movie," Simko said. "It was absolutely terrifying."

A few weeks ago, entomologists at Oklahoma State University confirmed through DNA testing what Simko suspected. The attackers - Sutherland sent six bee corpses to OSU experts - were indeed descendants of the 26 colonies of volatile Africanized bees transported to Brazil in 1955. Those bees escaped from their experimental hives a year later and began a relentless and deadly northward migration through South and Central America, into Mexico and then into the United States along the Texas border in 1990.

The bees have, according to scientists at the Smithsonian Institution, killed at least 1,000 people - most in areas where homes and cars aren't available as sanctuary in an attack.

By next summer, it is very likely the bees will discover Colorado. "This is as close to Colorado as we know they've come," said Sutherland. "And they'll get there one way or another. They'll keep moving in a natural way to find more food, like wildflowers, and water. Or a small colony will get under the canvas tarp of a big truck and hitch a ride north. We know they've done that in other places. They're very adaptable."

Brian Gianardi is a construction supervisor who was attacked the same day by the same swarm that had Simko shuffling across the roof of the home 15 miles northwest of the city.

The homeowners were at their other residence in San Francisco, giving Gianardi and Simko time to dig in for the weeks-long battle against the raging bees - Sutherland estimated there could have been "tens of thousands" of bees in the colony, though no one knows for sure - that built a hive on the front porch.

"The first thing I see," said Gianardi, "is a plumber's assistant get out of his truck and start yelling and running around, waving his hands over his head. To be honest, I thought it was pretty funny. Then the bees came after me and started stinging ... and it wasn't so funny anymore."

Eventually, Simko brought a bee suit from the New Mexico Pest Control facility where he works. Gianardi donned the suit and headed for the hive.

"I'm swinging a broom at them, and they just went nuts," he said. "Thousands of them are dive-bombing me, aiming for my face.

"They're bouncing off the wire face mask and the helmet. It sounded like popcorn popping. They were in total attack mode."

Simko didn't go to the hospital but said he felt sick and as though he were suffering a heart attack the night after the bee attack.

Sutherland said the men were lucky.

"A lot of bad things happen to people in that situation," she said. "When these Africanized bees sting, it releases a venom the others can smell. When they smell that chemical, they go into a rage and they all attack. The more they sting, the more agitated the colony becomes."

Simko and Sutherland said last week that the Africanized bees are no longer at the house - having packed up and flown off to parts unknown.

Today, Simko, whose face was badly swollen after the attack, has recovered.

Except for his lingering fear of small aircraft.

"The horrible buzzing as they attacked me, that's what I remember," he said.

"When I'm outside now and hear anything like that, I get pretty jumpy. The other day a Piper Cub flew overhead, and I felt that split-second of terror." (Rich Tosches, Denver Post, 10/16/05.)

KILLER BEES FOUND IN SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

Arroyo Grande, CA --- It's been long predicted, and now, it's been confirmed. Killer bees have been found in San Luis Obispo County.

A sample of unusually aggressive honeybees was collected in rural Arroyo Grande. Beekeeper Tim Vaughn found the bees in hive boxes, far from any people or domestic animals. The sample was confirmed through lab analysis by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to be Africanized honey bees, or killer bees. Vaughn immediately began working to reduce the hive population.

Africanized honey bees look the same and have the same venom as other types of honey bees. One difference, however, is where they like to set up their hives.

"One red flag for people to look for is that the Africanized bees like to look for a new house in the ground, so if you see a hive in an underground water meter, or a gas meter, that's a red flag and you probably want to exterminated that hive," said Tim Vaughn, beekeeper.

Another sign is their behavior. Africanized honey bees are more defensive in protecting their hives, guard a larger area around their hives and swarm faster than other types of honey bees if provoked. The only way to tell the difference between honey bees and killer bees is through a DNA test.

Vaughn says like other types of honey bees, a killer bee can only sting once before dying. He says it will take about 2,000 killer bee stings to kill a person.

Africanized bees are more aggressive than regular bees. To avoid getting stung, you should follow the same kind of precautions around their more docile cousins. First give bees respect and discourage them from making your home, their home.

If a swarm chases you, run in a straight direction, cover your head, and go indoors. Call a pest control company if you have an infestation. If you get stung, remove the stinger and wash the sting with soap and water. If you're allergic to bees, you should see a doctor. (By: Kimberly Romo, KSBY-TV News 6, 10/13/05.)

BEEKEEPER HASN'T FOUND KILLER BEES HERE

ARCADIA, FL --- Africanized "killer" bees might be a fact of life for Florida, but beekeeper Tom Peterson said he hasn't seen them yet in this area.

Peterson owns and operates Peterson's Honey on County Road 661 a few miles west of Arcadia.

His hives are moved around in DeSoto, Charlotte and Sarasota areas. The tastiest honey comes during orange blossom time, he said, but the bees stay busy this time of year with palmetto blooms.

Peterson said his hives and operation are inspected annually by officials of the state of Florida, and no Africanized bees have been found. He also has not noticed the characteristic aggressive behavior that would indicate African bees had bred with his more docile European bees.

It was only this summer that state officials said Florida had been invaded by Africanized bees, despite 22 years of sporadic captures in the state. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson made it official in a public advisory, saying residents here must learn to live with the Africanized bees.

Bad bees

It's a bee breed with a deserved bad reputation.

In May, a swarm of Africanized bees killed a horse in a pasture near LaBelle. In July, a swarm attacked a man working in a Palm Beach County field. He survived to say the swarm was "the size of a building."

Since its introduction into this hemisphere in 1957 -- an escapee from a Brazilian scientific experiment -- the bee is said to have killed more than 1,000 people and 100,000 cattle as it spread throughout South, Central and parts of North America.

Arizona, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico and California have dealt with killer bees for decades now and have much to teach Florida about living with the deadly insect.

The "Southwestern states are the templates for what living with a hybridized honey bee in Florida might be like," Bronson said.

In some of those states, the problem is so severe that all feral colonies are considered Africanized. If found near people, the bees are killed by firefighters using a chemical foam containing detergent. The detergent removes oil from the bees and they suffocate within 60 seconds.

On the scent

At the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Ariz., Dr. Justin Schmidt wondered six years ago if he couldn't isolate the scent, called a pheromone and smelling like a banana, that Africanized bees are attracted to. Using sophisticated gas analyzers, he found the pheromone and was able to chemically reproduce it.

It's now used inside what are called "swarm traps."

"We developed a simple, inexpensive trap with a pheromone lure to attract swarms looking for new nest sites," Schmidt said.

A company called Beemaster took Schmidt's discovery and introduced a commercial swarm trap. The pheromone will not be sold to individuals (it could be a terrorist weapon), but Beemaster obtains it and creates traps made partly from recycled newsprint.

These traps are widely used near schools, parks, golf courses and botanical gardens in the Southwest. Killer bees will swarm to the traps and then can be disposed of.

A single trap is $24.95, and bulk purchases are available at pestcontrol-products.com.

Bronson's state agency uses swarm traps to follow the spread of the killer bees. There are 500 traps now located near all Florida ports and along Interstate 10 in North Florida, plus near the Alabama-Florida border. Each trap is checked every third week.

Statewide, about 10 percent of all bees captured are Africanized, tests show.

Stowaways

Bronson said he doesn't believe the killer bees migrated to Florida along the Gulf Coast from Texas. Migration seemed to stop at the Louisiana-Texas border years ago, and one scientist, Jose D. Villa with the United States Department of Agriculture, found a correlation with rainfall.

"Rainfall over 55 inches," he wrote in publications sent to beekeepers, "distributed evenly throughout the year, is almost a complete barrier to (Africanized bee) spread."

It isn't just total rainfall, he said, that is important. It's the total and the fact that it occurs evenly all year. South Florida, he said before the current invasion became known, "would be hospitable to the bees given its temperature and rainfall."

That has proven the case.

LaBelle, where the horse was stung to death, is in Hendry County, located in South Florida. When the state tested bee populations in that county following the fatal attack, almost half the bees had African bee DNA.

Bronson said while there are several ways killer bees could have reached Florida, he believes beekeepers are bringing in the Africanized bees in hives they move around the country for pollination purposes, "particularly from almond orchards in California where the Africanized honey bee is already established."

Peterson agrees.

"That makes sense to me," he said. "They get in the colony and it's returned to Florida."

Peterson does not ship his hives around the country, as some beekeepers do. (Robert Bowden, Venice Gondolier Sun, 10/12/05.)

'KILLER' BEES FOUND NEAR SANTA FE

SANTA FE, NM -- A New Mexico State University entomologist has confirmed Africanized honey bees at a home in a subdivision northwest of Santa Fe.

New Mexico's first swarm of Africanized honey bees was found in 1993 in Hidalgo County. Since then, they have spread to 12 New Mexico counties, recently reaching rural Roosevelt County, and are likely to continue buzzing their way north.

"They're well established and will be in New Mexico for the foreseeable future," said Carol Sutherland, an entomologist with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service.

Africanized honey bees were brought to Brazil in 1956 by an entomologist hoping to bolster honey production.

The bees escaped a research park the next year and have migrated north and west ever since. They first entered the United States at Hidalgo, Texas, in October 1990.

Domestic bees, bred for gentleness and honey production, have lived among people for thousands of years, Sutherland said in a news release by the extension service. Africanized bees are wild and aren't comfortable around people or animals.

Highly protective of their hives, Africanized bees are more likely to sense a threat at greater distances, become agitated quicker and sting in greater numbers. Safety around bees depends on knowing what to do long before an encounter occurs.

"Avoid areas where bees are foraging and avoid disturbing them, if possible," Sutherland said. "Learn to look and listen for bee activity wherever you happen to be. And if you find yourself in a situation where bees are numerous, noisy or acting strangely, escape to safety as quickly as you can. Run and don't stop until you reach safety, such as a building with doors and windows that close." ( Staci Matlock, The New Mexican, 10/7/05.)

BEES RAISE CONCERNS FOR COUNTY OFFICIALS

ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NM --- An unusual amount of buzzing is going on around the county and county officials are receiving many calls about bee problems.

Floyd McAlister, Roosevelt County ag extension agent, reported an unusual amount of calls about bees in Roosevelt County during the county commission meeting on Tuesday morning.

“I know we have received several calls on Africanized bees,” McAlister said. “I have received more calls on bees this summer than any other year in the 20 years that I have been here. The Africanized bees are here and they’re here to stay.”

McAlister said an Eastern New Mexico University worker was stung 30 times by bees while he was working at the Lewis Cooper Rodeo Arena. The Africanized bee species was first discovered in Roosevelt County in the Causey-Lingo area, approximately 30 miles southeast of Portales, in July.

McAlister said he received three calls on Monday about possible Africanized bees. McAlister said nothing about the bees’ appearance alone can determine the difference between an Africanized bee and a European honey bee.

“It’s impossible to tell whether they’re regular bees or Africanized bees,” McAlister said. “We’ve sent six samples to the lab and had one returned. It was an Africanized bee.”

Samples are sent to entomologists at the New Mexico State University Extension office in Las Cruces.

This is a nationwide epidemic. In early August race car driver A.J. Foyt was stung by nearly 200 bees, according to an Associated Press report.

Bee attacks have been reported in Carlsbad, Artesia and Portales this year. Bees attacked three Artesia police officers, one Eddy County Sheriff’s deputy and two civilians on Thursday, according to another AP report.

“They look exactly alike (regular bees and Africanized bees),” McAlister said. “You can only tell by their behavior. They (Africanized bees) are vicious. Africanized bees will go to the head and neck.”

Jene Evans of Kenna found nearly 80,000 bees by her house in late June. In cases where people find bees the best option is to contact the Portales Fire Department at 356-4406 or the extension office at 356-4417 so the problem could be handled properly. (Tony Parra, Portales News-Tribune, 9/21/05.)

FEW OPTIONS WHEN CONFRONTED BY BEES

TEMECULA, CA ---- Run. That's the advice a county official had Monday for anyone confronted with a swarm of angry bees.

"Just get the heck out of there and run," Michele Tracy, a Riverside County agricultural and standards investigator said. "You aren't going to be able to completely outrun all of the bees, but you can get away from the bulk of them.

"Cover your head and face with whatever you can, like a jacket," she said. "Bees typically will go for the head and face."

On Friday, two men doing landscape work were hospitalized after stumbling upon a large underground hive and being stung dozens of times. The pair were working on a slope along the east side of Butterfield Stage Road about 100 yards north of Crowne Hill Drive in Temecula.

Grant Yates, assistant to the city manager, said Monday that the two men, who were employed by Excel Landscaping, a private company that contracts with the city of Temecula for landscaping work, were released from Rancho Springs Medical Center on Friday.

A woman who answered the phone at Excel Landscaping said they were "fine," but declined to offer any other information, including their names and ages and what exactly transpired before the bee attack.

The large hive was located inside an underground reclaimed water tank, part of which consists of a purple cylinder that sticks above ground about three feet with holes the size of dimes through which bees can enter and exit. Somehow the two men angered the bees or disturbed the hive, prompting the bees to attack them, officials have said.

Tracy said Monday that underground tanks like that one, as well as underground cable and electrical boxes, seem to be a common spot for hives.

If someone sees even a small number of bees going in and out of a particular area, they should be concerned about the possibility of a hive nearby.

"Just be aware of your surroundings," she said.

Once a swarm is disturbed and the bees attack a person, Tracy said the key is to get away and find a vehicle or building to get into.

She recommends a vehicle rather than a house or other building when possible because there could be other people attacked inside a building.

Once safely inside an enclosed area like a car, "you can at least kill the ones that are inside" and avoid any others that are still outside, Tracy said.

The city of Temecula will not be conducting tests to see if the bees were "Africanized," something the city was considering Friday, Yates said Monday.

He said he learned Monday that county health officials consider all bees in the region to be Africanized, so the tests are not needed.

Africanized bees have been characterized as aggressive, especially when defending a food source or their hive, educators have said in past interviews.

Africanized bees first appeared in Riverside County in 1994, when they were spotted in Blythe. The bees are the result of an effort to breed a bee that would produce more honey in a tropical climate. Stray swarms of the aggressive breed that escaped from beekeepers in Brazil have made their way north since the 1950s.

Yates said the attack serves as a reminder that bees and beehives should be taken seriously. People who observe a swarm of bees should call the city's code enforcement department at (951) 694-6444.

A spokeswoman at the city's code enforcement office said Monday that they have not received any calls of bee hives or swarms since Friday's incident. (Jennifer Kabbany and John Hall, North County Times, 9/19/05.)

AFRICANIZED SWARM STINGS FIVE PEOPLE, THREE HORSES

PHELAN, CA — Neighbors here report bees attacked and stung at least five people and three horses.

Phelan resident Paula Bennett said she was sitting in her front yard Wednesday when she heard neighbor Brian Barron screaming for help.

"He was covered in hundreds if not thousands of bees," Bennett said. "He was asking for help, and the bees were just being really aggressive."

Bennett and other neighbors helped Barron by spraying the bees and removing his clothing. Still, some of the bees would not cease in their attack.

"These bees were the most aggressive I have ever seen," said resident Tom Fracasso. "They just kept on coming back to try to sting people."

The incident began when Barron used a tractor to remove a storage container from a shed near his residence. The dust and noise prevented Barron from noticing the bee hive near the container.

"I looked at my hand, and about 50 to 100 bees were covering my skin," he said. "Before I knew it, I was covered in bees and I had to get down from the tractor and start running for help."

Barron was stung 11 times.

"I just feel the pain of the stings, but other than that I am OK," he said.

While rescuing Barron from the bees, Fracasso and three other good Samaritans were stung at least twice each. The bees also attacked horses on Barron's property.

"One of the horses was attacked by the bees, broke down the corral, and escaped," Bennett said.

Another horse was stung multiple times and is now in guarded condition while receiving treatment, Fracasso said. An exterminator was called to the home on Mono Street.

"The exterminator told us the bees were Africanized. They were really big and dark," Fracasso indicated.

Barron said nobody had any allergic reactions to the incident.

"Everybody is OK and the horses are getting medicine, and we want to let people know that there might be more bees in the area," he said. (By Miguel Gonzalez, Staff Writer, Daily Press, 9/16/05.)

BEES ATTACK WOMAN IN LOWER VALLEY

EL PASO, TX ---- An elderly woman is recovering from more than 100 stings in a horrific bee attack Tuesday evening outside her Lower Valley home, her family said.

The bees were so aggressive, a witness said, they covered the woman's face, got into her mouth, hair and ears, and some went along in the ambulance to the emergency room.

"It was just unbelievable ... The swarm just kept coming and kept coming," said Johanna Puga-Martinez, 25, who used a garden hose to help rescue her neighbor Connie Bermes.

"Through an act of selflessness, this lady single-handedly saved my grandmother's life and in my eyes is a true hero," Melissa Quintero said in an e-mail to the El Paso Times.

Bermes, 82, was working in her back yard in the 8100 block of Algerita Court when she was attacked by bees living in a hollow tree by a ditch behind her home, said her son Allen Bermes, a retired El Paso deputy fire chief.

He said a crew was mowing grass at the spot earlier in the day.

The bees chased Bermes into her home, her son said. She ran out and knocked on a neighbor's door but they wouldn't open out of fear. They had a baby.

Then, Puga-Martinez, with her three young children -- two girls, ages 4 and 22 months and 10-year-old Sergio Fraire -- drove up to their home so Sergio could grab a book.

Sergio got to the front door, but sprinted back into the car after being stung by a bee.

"As soon as I looked up, a swarm of bees was coming after him," Puga-Martinez said. She then saw Bermes with her face masked by bees. "She was moving slowly. All she did was tap my car like to say 'help me.' "

Puga-Martinez ran out of the car and got a water hose to hold off the swarm as Bermes collapsed to the ground. Puga-Martinez was stung more than 20 times in the process.

Sergio called 911 from his mom's cell phone in the car. His dad Frank Martinez drove up, went into the house through a back window, opened the front door and helped the women get inside. The bees tried to follow.

"The bees were hitting (the door) hard like somebody was knocking on the door," Puga-Martinez said. Firefighters showed up and the swarm was dispersed.

It was unknown if the swarm was of Africanized bees, or killer bees, fire Lt. Mario E. Hernandez said. Bees are most active in the spring and fall. There were two other bee emergency calls Wednesday, but no one was injured. (Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times, 9/15/05.)

SWARM OF BEES TAKE OVER INTERSECTION, ATTACK OFFICERS

ARTESIA, N.M. -- A swarm of thousands of angry bees took over an intersection in southeast New Mexico and went into attack mode.

Police in the town of Artesia, and a Eddy County Sheriff's deputy were responding to a call of suspicious activity around 1:30 Wednesday afternoon. When they got out of their cars, officers were attacked.

The bees came from a hive hanging under a wishing well in the front yard of a nearby home.

“Three of our officers were stung several times by the bees,” says Sgt. Richard Martinez of the Artesia Police Department. “The Eddy County Deputy Sheriff was also stung by the bee. We sent a couple of them to the hospital with bee stings. One of our officers is allergic to bee stings.”

Two civilians were also strung and a two block area was sealed off.

A pest control company came and sprayed the estimated 80,000 bees.

Tests will be done to determine if they were Africanized, or so-call "killer bees." (KRQE News 13, 9/14/05.)

HURRICANE BLOWS IN KILLER BEES; HOMEOWNERS INJURED, PETS KILLED
Firefighter: "Swarm Of Bees Just Covered Fire Truck"

MIAMI, FL --- A large swarm of Africanized bees that experts believe were blown into Florida by Hurricane Katrina killed two dogs and injured several homeowners in South Florida this week, according to a Local 6 News report.

The killer bees took refuge in a hollow log in Miami Gardens after the storm, officials said.

When a professional bee handler tried the take care of the problem, they attacked residents, reporters, firefighters and pets. Two dogs were killed by the stings and neighbors were stung, officials said.

"It's scary because you get a lot of bites, the house is full of bees right there now," neighbor Franklin Rutherford said.

Lt. Eric Baum of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the swarm was so thick when firefighters arrived on the scene they could barely see out their windows.

"When our fire truck arrived, the officers and firefighters just saw a swarm of bees just cover the fire truck. Visibility was limited. Bees were all over," Baum said.

Two men and a woman at the house were treated for multiple stings. The firefighters had to put on full bunker gear covering every part of their body before venturing out of the truck.

A beekeeper called to remove the bees didn't realize they were killer bees until after he began his work.

By the time firefighters set fire to the log, beekeeper Adrian Valero said the queen had escaped to a tree in the backyard. He said where the queen goes the hive follows.

"They are more aggressive than the regular ones. If you disturb them for any reason they attack faster than the regular ones," Valero said.

He was able to kill the colony using a chemical fogger. (WKMG-TV 6 News Orlando, 9/9/05.)

BEES ATTACK MAN, DOGS, OFFICERS HERE SUNDAY

ALPINE, TX ---- On Sunday afternoon, the buzz around town was about more than just the annual balloon festival.

Around noon on Sunday, the city's animal control department and local firemen/EMS were contacted regarding a man and dog being stung by bees.

Once on the scene, Animal Control Officer Carin Crain and local authorities blocked off the area.

At the time, Crain was the only person wearing a bee suit.

"Once there, we got the man out of the house," Crain said. "He was having a hard time breathing and both dogs taken in were his dogs. Apparently, the man was asked to mow the grass and spray the bees if he saw any. Well, he did that and they went after him, and we had to send him to the hospital."

The beehive was found under a trailer on the 1600 block of Cotter at Murphy as the bees were coming out of the side of the trailer.

"We had to pull the siding off and found honeycomb that was three feet by three feet deep," Crain said. "The bees then began attacking the cell phone and radio."

Once Crain and fellow Animal Control Officer Newdrian Thomas killed the hive, they surveyed the damage.

"Once we killed the hive, there were still some stragglers but we got a majority of them," Crain said. "What people need to realize is that when they call in, they need to say if multiple bees attacked them or if it was just a single bee."

Before Crain arrived on the scene, a local fireman had been stung 20 to 30 times while walking off the porch.

"We made sure we had all the animals and then sent them to the vet," Crain said. "There were a lot of people stung by the bee attack, including the man that called, myself, Thomas and a female firefighter. I was stung in the face and the arms through the bee suit. We assume that the reason the bees got into the suit is because we were being sprayed down and somehow that affected the velcro in the suit. The bees were very aggressive."

Crain sought further attention at Big Bend Regional Medical Center.

"When you get stung by a bee, you are supposed to scrape the stinger out, not just pull it out because that can cause more venom to be squeezed into the affected area," Crain said. (Denton Ramsey, The Alpine Avalanche, 9/8/05.)

EYE ON RESEARCH: 'KILLER' BEES NOW FOUND THROUGHOUT NM

NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY, NM --- A dozen years after they were first discovered in New Mexico, aggressive, Africanized “killer bees” have spread to 12 counties, recently reaching rural Roosevelt County, and are likely to continue buzzing their way north.

“They’re well established and will be in New Mexico for the foreseeable future,” said Carol Sutherland, an entomologist with New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service.

Other counties where the Africanized honey bees have been found are Catron, DoZa Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, Otero and Sierra. NMSU scientists have evaluated bees from several other counties, including a hybrid colony that was confirmed in eastern Bernalillo County several years ago.

“Africanized and regular honey bees are so similar in appearance that lab testing is necessary for exact identification,” Sutherland said. “In most cases, the bees are sampled after a pest control operator eliminates a problem swarm for testing.”

New Mexico’s first swarm of Africanized bees was found in the rangeland of Hidalgo County in 1993. The latest colony was found in Roosevelt County in late May in the wall of a house in the Causey-Lingo area.

In addition to New Mexico, Africanized honey bees have been found in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Texas and Utah. They were confirmed in Oklahoma in 2004, and in Arkansas this year. The latest occurrence came in Tampa, Fla., where officials believe they arrived on a commercial ship.

Domestic bees, bred for gentleness and honey production, have lived among people for thousands of years, Sutherland said. On the other hand, Africanized bees are totally wild and aren’t the least bit comfortable around people or animals.

Highly protective of their hives, Africanized bees are more likely to sense a threat at greater distances, become agitated quicker and sting in greater numbers. Safety around bees depends on knowing what to do long before an encounter occurs.

“Avoid areas where bees are foraging and avoid disturbing them, if possible,” Sutherland said. “Learn to look and listen for bee activity wherever you happen to be. And if you find yourself in a situation where bees are numerous, noisy or acting strangely, escape to safety as quickly as you can. Run and don’t stop until you reach safety, such as a building with doors and windows that close.”

The so-called killer bees are the result of honey bees brought from Africa to Brazil in the 1950s in hopes of breeding a bee better adapted to the South American tropical climate. These honey bees were shipped to Brazil in the mid-1950s where they escaped and became established in the wild.

They then spread south and north until they officially reached southern Texas in 1990. Today, more than 60 percent of Texas counties have Africanized bee populations.

While a sting from an Africanized bee is no more toxic than that of a European honey bee, Africanized bees are more aggressive. Africanized bees will usually attack with less provocation, and the angry bees will pursue people or attackers for longer distances.

Lucille Kincaid, 74, of Carlsbad, died of cardiac arrest in the summer of 2000 after she was stung multiple times by Africanized bees in her backyard. A number of others have been hospitalized after receiving numerous stings.

There have been 11 deaths associated with the Africanized bees in Texas in the 15 years since they were found, and hundreds more people have been stung. Nearly 100 animals have been killed.

Still, the bee’s killer reputation is somewhat overstated. “Africanized bees don’t roam in big swarms searching out victims,” Sutherland said.

If a swarm or colony is discovered, have it removed by a professional exterminator or pest control operator, she said. Beekeepers may not be interested in collecting bees when Africanized honey bees are known to occur in the area.

“Don’t wait for a determination of whether or not your bees are Africanized,” Sutherland said. “After Africanized honey bees are confirmed, further identifications can be just of academic interest.”

How much farther Africanized honey bees may spread is still unknown.

“Some expected these bees to be a major threat to agriculture and life in the Southwest,” Sutherland said. “Others expected an initial surge of activity and then the problem would somehow go away. The truth in New Mexico is somewhere in between.” (Las Cruces Sun-News , 9/5/05.)

BEES ATTACK CONSTRUCTION CREW

MANOR, TX ---- KXAN has crews on the scene of a serious bee attack north of Manor. Apparently, a bulldozer came in contact with a swarm of bees along FM 973.

Travis County says that nine people are being treated for bee stings. Their conditions have not been released.

They're trying to balance emergency medical crews with traffic control, so they can keep as many people as possible away from the area.

KXAN will bring you more on this story throughout the day. (KXAN-TV 36 News, Austin, 8/30/05.)

TEXOMA MAN HOSPITALIZED AFTER ATTACKED BY BEES

STONEWALL, OK ----- A Texoma man is still in the hospital after bees swarmed him on his own property outside of Stonewall.

There wasn’t any reason at all why the bees swarmed and stung an 84-year-old man and that’s what has authorities so worried.

Officials say the man was swarmed by hundreds of bees while fishing on Sunday.

The man claims he didn’t do anything to provoke the insects, but was stung over 100 times anyways.

The man found a neighbor to drive him to Valley View Hospital in Ada.

Officials believe the bees could be a type of African Bee migrating North from South America.

“I know the African Bee can be a potentially deadly bee, especially if people are allergic to them,” said Justin Priest, Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office. “I know there have been some fatalities linked to the African Bee.”

The Pontotoc County Sheriff’s office obtained two bees from the mans clothes.

They will be sent to the OSU Extension Service for observation and testing.

There is no word on the man’s condition or when he will be released.

(Jocelyn Lockwood, KTEN-TV 10 News, 8/29/05.)

SWARM OF BEES ATTACK THREE DOGS, KILLING ONE

SANTA ANA, CA ---- A swarm of bees attacked a group of three dogs in a neighborhood yard, killing a 13-year-old Labrador named Jessie.

The attack occurred Friday at the home of Bonnie Lantz, which sits on a hilltop, surrounded by citrus orchards and bougainvillea flowers.

The bees first attacked Lantz's 78-year-old mother-in-law, Beatrice Bravo. She ran into the home after being stung on the back of the head. Hundreds of bees then covered the three dogs.

Lantz's stepson Austin Jiminez, 19, donned a paintball mask and dishwashing gloves and ran into the backyard to get the dogs to a safe place.

Jessie, the Labrador, died in the attack, and the other two dogs, Mica and Moose, were treated at an animal hospital. (Montery Herald, 8/29/05.)

AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA, AS WELL AS NORTHWEST

LAKE CHARLES, LA. — Africanized honeybees have been found in southwestern Louisiana, as well as in the northwestern part of the state, so the line of honeybee traps is being moved 40 miles east.

The latest swarm was found last week in the Lake Charles area, three miles south of Interstate 10 on Louisiana Highway 108, said state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom.

Odom said the state will begin certifying beekeepers in the area west of the trap line next spring when they are packaging their bees for sale.

"Again, our number one priority at this time is to notify the public and beekeepers in the area that Africanized bees have been confirmed. We're not trying to frighten anyone or cause panic, but people who spend time outside need to be aware," Odom said Friday.

Africanized honeybees are smaller, more aggressive bees than the European honeybees commonly raised for honey production. They have the same venom as other honeybees, but will sting in greater numbers. Seeking cover immediately helps to reduce the number of stings in a confrontation with Africanized bees.

Africanized bees are the result of an experiment to increase honey production in Brazil. A swarm of the small, aggressive bees escaped the lab in 1957 and headed north. When they mated with native strains, the offspring turned out to be as aggressive as the African parents.

Louisiana's first colony was trapped in July, near Rodessa in north Caddo Parish. It was the first case of Africanized bees moving into the state through natural range expansion.

LDAF keeps a line of traps running north and south through the state to detect the progression of the Africanized honeybees. The traps in northern Louisiana were moved about 40 to 50 miles east of the Louisiana-Texas border earlier this month after the Africanized bees were found near Shreveport. The traps are about two miles apart and contain a queen bee pheromone that attracts swarms of bees. (AP, 8/28/05.)

BEES SWARM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; 3 STUDENTS, 7 MAINTENANCE WORKERS STUNG

TUCSON, AZ ---- Tucson firefighters spray foam on a bee swarm at a Sunnyside Unified School District maintenance yard. Three children and seven adults were stung by the bees.

A Sunnyside Unified School District maintenance employee shows TFD Capt. Tom MCNamara another swarm of bees spotted after the first swarm was destroyed.
Three first-graders and seven maintenance workers were stung after hundreds of bees swarmed near a South side school.

Two girls and a boy at Los Ranchitos Elementary School, 2054 E. Ginter Road, were the first to be stung this morning at about 10:40 p.m.

All three were stung once each and have returned to classes. The attack occurred as they were heading back into the school after a physical education class, said Monique Soria, a Sunnyside Unified School District spokeswoman.

The maintenance workers were stung multiple times and one - a 41-year-old woman - was hospitalized for an allergic reaction, said Capt. Paul McDonough, a spokesman for the Tucson Fire Department.

The bee swarm originated from two hives: one located in a lot between the school and district offices where old desks, toilets and other discarded parts were stored and the other from the desert to the south of the lot, McDonough said.

Workers who were stung went to Los Ranchitos' nurse's office for treatment.

The school was immediately placed on lockdown and lunch was served to the students in their classrooms, Soria said.

"They did the exact best thing they could have done. They got all the children inside and went into lockdown," McDonough said. "This could have been a lot worse and a lot more people could have received stings."

If people encounter a swarm, they should get inside immediately, he said.

"The last thing you want to do is play dead, lay on the ground and cover up your face," McDonough said. "You don't want to stand in place and swat at the bees. You want to turn and run - get out of the environment ."

Tucson firefighters were dispatched to five reports of bee swarms last year, he said. So far this year, there have been three calls for bee swarms.

This does not include calls for allergic reactions due to bee stings, McDonough said.

Firefighters will be responding to more calls this time of year after the rains.

"We're going to see more and more of this, especially with the Africanized bee colonies that have a stronghold here now," McDonough said. "They are aggressive. If you accidentally get stung by one of those bees, the rest of them seem to hone in right on that sting and they come after you."

An exterminator is at Los Ranchitos waiting for the bees to calm down before killing them, Soria said. (Eric Sagara, Tucson Citizen, 8/25/05.)

ARE KILLER BEES COMING TO SOUTH GEORGIA?

Irwin County, GA -- It's no horror movie. Killer bees are coming. Africanized bees already made their way into Florida and they may not be too far from buzzing into Georgia.

To the average person, bees are just black and yellow flying annoyances. "These are italian, what we call European honey bees," says beekeeper Terry Hester. For beekeeper Terry Hester, european honey bees have been a living for about fifteen years. "Of course it all started when I was four-years-old and my great-grandfather keeping bees," says Hester.

It's a life-long passion that requires precaution with a little smoke to calm the bees and a special suit. "They allow the air to come in but keep the bees out," says Hester. Hester says no amount of smoke or kind of suit will keep a dangerous kind of bee from entering South Georgia. "Now if we get africanized bees, I don't know," says Hester.

Africanized bees, or what some call killer bees are already established in California, Texas and now in Florida. "Areas that have africanized bees, there's been human loss of life, 14 lives that I know of in the United States, multiple counts of livestock that's been lost," says Hester. There's also been hundreds of sting victims. Hester says if other area beekeepers aren't more careful about moving bees state to state to pollinate, the threat will be serious.

"The fear is that we have certain beekeepers in this area that are taking their european bees from the eastern sea board, parking them in California in the almond groves next to africanized colonies and then bringing them right back in our local neighborhoods," says Hester.

He also warns landowners to be careful of what kinds of bees pollinate their crops. "I think any landowner should make sure that whoever they're allowing to put bees on their property has not been sending their bees into other places and states where there are africanized colonies," says Hester. If the bees aren't blocked early, South Georgians will have to adjust to some new annoying residents.

"I think they're right on our doorsteps, if they're not here already," says Hester. But beekeepers like Terry Hester are trying to make sure they don't get a chance to move in.

The state Department of Agriculture will hold a meeting with several bee shippers later this month to talk about the potential threat of africanized bees here in South Georgia. (WALB-TV 10 News, 8/16/05.)

AFRICANIZED BEES' ARRIVAL IN LA NO WORRY TO BEEKEEPERS
Experts: Aggressive species 'long overdue' in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, LA ---- A recent announcement that Africanized honeybees have arrived in Louisiana didn't surprise many of the state's beekeepers.

"I've kind of expected them sooner than this," said Bobby Frierson, a beekeeper in Denham Springs.

He said beekeepers have watched over the years as the Africanized honeybees made their way north from South America into Texas.

Although there have been instances where Africanized honeybees -- sometimes referred to as killer bees -- have been intercepted around deep water ports, this is the first time the bees have entered the state through the expansion of their range, said Jimmy Dunkley, state apiarist with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

"It's long overdue," he said.

Alva Stuard, Capital Area Beekeepers Association president, said the statewide beekeeper association met recently and the general consensus is that the recent announcement shouldn't affect people in Louisiana too much.

Stuard said that unlike other bees, the Africanized honeybees tend to swarm often in an attempt to look for a new place to start a hive. That means these bees find themselves facing winter without a ready food supply, which slows their spread, he said.

It could be 10 or 12 years before these Africanized honeybees reach Baton Rouge -- if they get here at all, he said.

Dunkley said bee traps were set up in the 1990s around Louisiana's deep water ports to determine if ships carried these Africanized bees into the state. More traps were put up over the years along the Louisiana/Texas border all the way to Arkansas. There are now traps about every two miles along that border.

"That gives us a pretty good coverage," Dunkley said.

The traps were installed to help notify the public, which might come into contact with the bees, and to alert the beekeeper industry to take precautions against having the Africanized bees invade their European bee colonies. Most beekeepers raise European bees.

Although the Africanized bees are about the same size and have the same venom as the European bees, what makes them potentially dangerous is their aggressiveness, Dunkley said. (Amy Wold, The Advocate, 8/15/05.)

While it might take European bees eight seconds to react to a perceived threat to the hive, Africanized bees will respond in as little as half a second, Dunkley said.

The Africanized bees also respond in greater numbers and are more persistent in following people even as they try to escape the area. Where a person might get four or five stings from European bees, Africanized bees would respond with 40 or 50 stings within the same time frame.

Dunkley said the best advice is to leave bees alone, but if they do get agitated, the best course is to get as far away as possible. If you try to stand and fight them off, he said, Africanized bees can deliver enough toxins to seriously injure or even kill a person.

The public's front line of defense against colonization by Africanized bees are the 406 registered beekeepers in the state, Dunkley said.

If the Africanized bees come into an area that has few native or European bees, they can easily establish hives. With well-maintained European hives, however, the Africanized bees are given competition for habitat and food, making it tougher for them to establish large colonies, he said.

Frierson said the threat of the Africanized bees won't affect how he manages his hives because he replaces the hive's queen every year, anyway. That "requeening" of a hive helps ensure that Africanized bees aren't infiltrating the hives through breeding.

Frierson explained that beekeepers already manage their hives to get rid of invasive parasites like mites and now they'll watch for the Africanized bees, too.

"It's just one more thing to add to the list," Frierson said. (Amy Wold, The Avocate, 8/15/05.)

HANDYMAN RESCUES WOMAN STUNG 400 TIMES
She is recovering from the attack, launched from the wall of a shed near UA.

TUCSON, AZ --- An 83-year-old woman is making a remarkable recovery after she was swarmed by bees and stung 400 times outside her University of Arizona-area home, a clinical nursing supervisor said.

And a handyman who helped her is credited with possibly saving her life, Fire Department Capt. Paul McDonough said.

The woman, whose name was not available, was outside her home on East University Boulevard, when she was attacked about 9:45 a.m. yesterday by bees coming from the wall of a nearby storage building, McDonough said.

"Hundreds and hundreds of bees swarmed her, more than a couple hundred," McDonough said.

He said the handyman, also unidentified, sprayed her and the bees with a garden hose until he, too, was attacked, McDonough said.

He said the man, while running from the bees, immediately called 911, allowing medics and firefighters to quickly get to the woman and spray the bees with firefighting foam, killing them. The man was not hurt, McDonough said.

McDonough said firefighters found the woman lying face down and unconscious in the street.

She regained consciousness at University Medical Center but could not initially remember her name or what happened, McDonough said.

At UMC, clinical supervisor Kim Hilty said the woman was out of intensive care and in fair condition last night.

"She was stung 400 times," Hilty said, adding, "Everyone was surprised how well she's doing." (David Teibel, Tucson Citizen, 8/13/05.)

FOUKE BATTLES AFRICANIZED BEES

FOUKE, AR ---- Mayor Cecil Smith said Thursday steps are being taken to remove Africanized bees from local hives.

"The Fouke City Volunteer Fire Department and Miller County Department of Emergency Management are in a joint effort, training in the removal of African 'Killer' bees. They have successfully removed one hive in the Fouke area," Smith read from a prepared statement during a city council meeting.

Miller County Department of Emergency Management Deputy Coordinator Derrell Reynolds, who helps train the officials, spoke with the Gazette prior to the city hall meeting.

"I wish [people] wouldn't call them killer bees. There have only been 14 people killed in 15 years," he said. "They are not like European bees where two or three will attack you if you get close to their home. Africanized bees gang up on you. There may be thousands coming after you," Reynolds said.

He said a hive generally houses 60,000 to 70,000 bees. Reynolds said there are approximately 14 hives in Miller County, with only six classified as "full-blown" Africanized.

Fouke City Responder Misti Johnson trained with Reynolds earlier on Thursday. She said she learned to "tape off" her clothing to prevent any exposure to the elements because bees tend to travel up instead of down when attacking.

"They are dangerous and they will swarm. If you walk into them, keep your mouth shut because they like your breath," she said.

She also said Reynolds taught officials Africanized honeybees can travel 12 miles an hour and can pursue targets for a half mile.

"Don't underestimate them," she warned.

Smith repeatedly stressed the importance of calling the Miller County Sheriff's Office rather than trying to contend with a potential Africanized bee hive without training.

"You don't need to raise a honeycomb because you saw a hive of bees. Call the sheriff's office instead," Smith said. (By Jake Beckwith, Texarkana Gazette, 8/12/05.)

WORSE THAN A CRASH

HEMPSTEAD, TX --- During his legendary career, A.J. Foyt faced nearly everything a person could face on a racetrack and never blinked. Last weekend at one of his ranches near Hempstead, Foyt met his match.

A swarm of 60,000 bees attacked Foyt, who was clearing some brush with a bulldozer when he disturbed a beehive and was attacked and stung more than 200 times in the neck and head area.

"I've been hurt pretty bad in a race car, but this was one of the worst things I ever went through," said Foyt, 70.

Foyt jumped off the bulldozer and scrambled to a creek about 150 feet away. Twice, he stumbled to the ground but he kept moving away from the bees.

A ranch hand working in another field rushed to Foyt's aid and called 9-1-1. Paramedics treated Foyt at the site, but he refused to go to the hospital.

Foyt returned to the field two days later with member of the Texas A&M Agriculture Department, and Foyt said the team collected more than 60,000 bees.

"When I fell the second time, I was ready to give up right then," Foyt said. "It's a good thing I didn't because the Ag guys who came out told me that bees will keep stinging you until they kill you."

Foyt said he tried to watch the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on TV the day after the attack but his eyes were swollen and he couldn't see well. He was pleased when old friend Tony Stewart won the race. Stewart lists Foyt as his favorite driver in the NASCAR media guide.

"I'm really happy for him because I understand how much winning at Indy means to him," Foyt said. "He left a message on my cell phone about him winning a race that I didn't.

"When I see him, I'll have to remind him that I had won Indy (Indianapolis 500) three times by the time I was his age (34)." (AP, 8/10/05.)

INDIANAPOLIS 500 LEGEND A.J. FOYT SWARMED BY BEES

HEMPHILL, TX ---- A.J. Foyt has been known to stir up a hornets' nest in his career but it was bees that brought him to his knees this past weekend. Clearing brush with a bulldozer at one of his ranches Saturday afternoon, Foyt disturbed a beehive and he was immediately swarmed. He hopped off the 'dozer and made his way to a creek about 150 feet away but stumbled to the ground twice over the rough terrain. A ranch hand working in another field rushed to his aid and called 9-1-1.

Indy's first four-time 500 winner was treated by paramedics but he refused to go to the hospital. He was stung over 200 times mostly in the head and neck area.

Returning to the scene on Monday with members of the Texas A&M Agricultural Department, Foyt said they collected over 60,000 bees.

"I've hired someone to clear out the rest of that stuff," said Foyt. "I've been hurt pretty bad in a race car but this was one of the worst things I ever went through. When I fell the second time, I was ready to give up right then. It's a good thing I didn't because the Ag guys who came out Monday told me that bees will keep stinging you until they kill you."

Last September Foyt slipped when stepping off a large backhoe and tore his rotator cuff in his right arm severely enough to require surgery and a three-month re-hab program. Foyt, 70, last competed in a race in 1996 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway) but it appears lately that working on his ranches is proving to be a challenge to his staying healthy. (AP, 8/10/05.)

RACING LEGEND FOYT ATTACKED BY BEES

4-time Indy 500 winner stung Saturday but back at work Monday

HOUSTON, TX ---- A.J. Foyt was able to go to his office Monday, just two days after being stung by nearly 200 bees at his ranch in Hempstead, Texas.

Foyt spokeswoman Anne Fornoro told The Associated Press that the 70-year-old, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner was driving a bulldozer Saturday, clearing brush, when he apparently stirred up a nest of bees. She said Foyt jumped off the bulldozer and started to run for a nearby stream, but he tripped and the bees swarmed onto him.

He was stung dozens of times on the face and upper body before finally scrambling into the water.

Fornoro said a man working nearby called 911. Foyt was treated at the scene, but refused a trip to the hospital.

“He says he was stung in the mouth, the ears, the throat, all over his face and that his eyes are really swollen, but he’s doing OK,” Fornoro said.

Foyt is owner of an Indy Racing League team with his grandson, A.J. Foyt IV, as the driver. (AP. 8/9/05.)

AG OFFICIALS BEGIN RELOCATING TRAPS TO TRACK AFRICANIZED BEES

CADDO PARISH, LA ---- Africanized bees may have made their way into Caddo Parish, but chances are, they won't make another move without someone knowing about it.

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry announced last week that a bee taken from a trap near the town of Rodessa in June tested positive for the so-called "killer bee" variety.

Thursday, Ag workers began relocating that trap and dozens of others that it has distributed throughout Caddo Parish. According to Environmental Specialist Mark Elliott, the traps will be moved 40 miles east of their old locations, and also further to the south. He said that way, he and other Ag agents will be able to tell whether the bees are migrating.

"I've trapped a few hundred swarms in these traps and up until this time, there's been one Africanized bee trapped," Elliott said.

The Africanized, or killer bees, are more aggressive than the European variety, and tend to attack in larger numbers.

Elliott said Ag officials want to keep tabs on the pests and know where they are headed. He said once the traps are in their new locations, he and other agents will check them once a month to see what has taken up residence inside. A sample of any bees caught in the traps will be sent to a lab for testing to confirm whether they are of the Africanized type.

Elliott warned anyone who may be curious about the bee traps to forget about disturbing them. He said the traps could be full of bees, possibly the Africanized type. (KSLA-TV 12 News, 8/5/05.)

AGGRESSIVE AFRICAN BEES HERE TO STAY, KEEPERS FEAR

After monitoring bee hives for a decade, Florida agriculture officials concluded Africanized honey bees are already here and there's no way to effectively prevent them from spreading.

TAMPA, FL ---- Some time in the past three weeks, a cantaloupe-size mass of roughly 10,000 bees swarmed from a ship at the Port of Tampa, taking up residence in a cardboard container wired to a nearby fence.

The bees began gathering pollen and nectar, building wax honeycombs and making honey.

Last week, a state inspector, as scores of bees hovered inches from his back, gingerly removed the hive, placed it in a heavy plastic bag and doused the colony with insecticide.

The bees had made their new home in one of 21 traps at the port that monitor African colonies arriving aboard ships.

``I used to hate killing them. But they're suspected Africanized bees,'' said Randal Dean, one of 13 apiary inspectors for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Next month, DNA tests will confirm whether the colony was an Africanized honeybee hive, or a wild swarm of docile European honeybees.

A positive test for African honeybee DNA won't be surprising. One more batch of African bees will have hitched a ride into the state, part of an invasion Florida has been unable to repel.

The so-called ``killer bees'' are in Florida, and there's no way to eliminate them or prevent more from entering the state. Farmers, beekeepers and everyone else should beware.

``Every one we've found, we've eradicated. But we're certainly not getting them all. We'll have to deal with them in years to come,'' said Jerry Hayes, chief of apiary inspections for the agriculture department.

Although state officials cringe at the term killer bees, the African bees are highly aggressive and quickly swarm from hives by the thousands if they feel threatened.

African bees have killed people in California, and swarming bees in Texas have caused several fatal heart attacks.

In Florida, no attacks on humans have been confirmed. African bees killed a horse in April near Lake Okeechobee.

The bees attack mercilessly and will chase a person as far as a quarter-mile. They are easily disturbed by vibrations from machinery, loud noises and animals getting too close to the hive.

As the number of African bees increases, homeowners may find a wild colony in the yard, nesting in places such as mailboxes or under culverts.

``I worry about people in parks,'' Hayes said.

Bee Hotbed

About 100 of the roughly 150 African bee colonies in Florida have been found in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco or Manatee counties. Inspectors found the first African bees at Tampa's port in 2002.

``It's a hotbed,'' Hayes said.

Most of the African bee colonies probably flew off freighters from Central America.

Dean has found swarms in nearly all the traps at the Tampa port he checks every three weeks. The inspections usually turn up at least one colony.

Agriculture officials don't know how prevalent the African bees are in Florida. Colonies have been found in at least six other counties, including Hardee and Highlands.

``My personal fear is they may have set up housekeeping in the Everglades years ago and are moving north,'' Hayes said.

Agriculture officials know the African bees will spread.

African bees produce new colonies much faster than the European honeybee.

At least once a month, a queen from an African bee colony will leave the hive with about half the workers to establish a new colony.

African bees attack hives of European bees, kill the queen and take over the colony.

Male African bees work harder at mating than the European drones and are more successful. If one mates with a European queen, the colony will become Africanized.

``They dominate the landscape,'' Hayes said.

Agriculture officials say colonies will continue hitching rides on freighters docking at every port in Florida.

African bees also are brought into the state by beekeepers who take hives to California or Texas to pollinate crops.

Bleak Future

On a brutally hot afternoon, beekeeper Gary Ranker carefully lifted a wooden frame from a hive near Palmetto. Thick with honey, wax and eggs, the frame teemed with European honeybees.

``It's all negative,'' he said of African bees.

He shook the hive's frame, spilling a half dozen bees in his bare palm. They milled around, not stinging.

``If you tried to do that with Africanized bees, they'd clobber you,'' he said.

Ranker has never encountered ornery African bees in 30 years of beekeeping. He doesn't want to.

``We'd have to change how you work the hives. Wear more protection,'' he said.

More protection would include constantly using a bee veil, a protective hat with a screen to the shoulders that shields the face. It might mean adding heavy gloves and a baggy, mesh long-sleeve shirt that hangs below the waist.

Beekeepers don't want the extra work or expense of dealing with African bees.

To ensure that African bees haven't taken over hives, beekeepers would replace the hive's queen every year. The queen is usually left in the hive as long as she continues to lay eggs.

Queens can cost $8.50 each and with 1,000 hives, that's too much money for Ranker to afford every year.

Searching each hive to locate a queen that looks similar to the other bees except for its size is slow, exacting work requiring intense concentration.

It's like searching a pile of pins to find a needle, only the pins keep moving.

Ranker, who got his first bee hive as a fifth-grader in 1959, sees a bleak future.

``It's not just the job. It's a way of life. I like it the way it is. I'm not looking forward to what's coming.''

Agriculture Impacts

Exactly what that means for the vital bee and agriculture industries in Florida isn't known. Using commercial hives for the pollination of crops could become risky.

Some fruits and vegetables won't grow unless honeybees provide pollination.

Farmers pay beekeepers to place hives in their fields so bees can pollinate crops. Farmers cannot depend on wild bees or other insects to do the job.

Without pollination, melons, cucumbers or blueberries could not be grown on a commercial scale. Two-thirds of Florida's citrus crop depends on pollination from commercial beekeepers' hives.

African bees that have infiltrated a hive would pose a threat to farm workers. Nearby residents would not want potentially hostile swarms of bees next door.

Beekeepers could be forced to place hives farther from the crops, translating into less efficient pollination and honey- making.

So far, the agriculture industry hasn't determined whether changes will be necessary.

``I'm not aware of any industry protocol at this point,'' said Ray Gilmer, spokesman for the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

Lost Battle In Texas

Texas agriculture officials have been fighting the African bees since 1991 and have essentially surrendered. Of the state's 254 counties, African hybrids are in 159. The state recently dropped efforts to quarantine bees in counties where African bees were found.

Most of those are feral colonies, bees making a nest in the wild and not tended by commercial beekeepers.

Those wild hives attack tractor or bulldozer operators and people mowing lawns, said Bill Baxter, an inspector with the Texas Apiary Service. The vibration from machinery can set off an assault.

A wild swarm of African bees will nest in unexpected places such as mailboxes, knot holes in house siding, old tires, bird houses and barbecue grills.

He recommends every person mowing pasture or clearing land in an area where African bees have been found have a bee veil ready.

Texas beekeepers pay the state to test hives for African bees and certify the colonies free of the African variety. That, Baxter said, may ease liability if someone is stung and sues.

Hayes said the Florida agriculture department is pondering a similar process for Florida beekeepers.

Brazilian researchers, hoping to find a bee better suited to the tropical climate, imported African bees from southern Africa in the 1950s. Some escaped into the wild.

In 50 years, African bees migrated from Brazil, through South America and Central America, moved into Mexico, then to Texas, Arizona, California and Florida. On Friday, Louisiana agriculture officials confirmed that a swarm of bees trapped in the state is of the Africanized variety.

Survival Of Fittest

The honeybee industry in Brazil collapsed for decades as the aggressive, rapidly reproducing bees eradicated the European variety.

In their native southern Africa, the wild bees face a rough climate, predators such as the honey badger and humans raiding hives for honey, Hayes said. Colonies that avoided being destroyed developed a strong survival instinct, swarming by the thousands to attack and pursue.

``The bees that didn't have the aggressive traits were wiped out,'' Hayes said. ``It was pure evolution.''

The European honeybee evolved differently. Beekeepers eliminated aggressiveness through breeding and promoted traits that make hives docile and increase honey production.

Even with the African bee's genetics diluted through 50 years of breeding with European bees, an agitated hive of African bees can be aggressive.

``One thing that's amazing is how fast they can come out of a colony by the thousands,'' Baxter said. ``It sounds like somebody throwing gravel on the screen of your veil.'' (Neil Johnson , Tampa Tribune, 8/1/05.)

'KILLER BEES' FOUND IN NORTH CADDO

CADDO PARISH, LA --- Africanized honeybees, also called "killer bees," have been found in a trap near Rodessa, the first instance of the bees moving into the state other than through ships in New Orleans, the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry said Friday.

The finding could affect 17 beekeepers with 811 colonies in 36 locations in Caddo Parish. According to Texas A&M University's bee Web site, http://honeybee.tamu.edu, commercial beekeepers could suffer if Africanized bees infect their domestic colonies.

For the public, the greatest threat is that Africanized bees act differently from other varieties, since they are more aggressive and attack in large numbers. In isolated incidences people and animals have been stung to death.

"We've always said it's not a matter of if we get them but when we get them, and now we know they're here," Bob Odom, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry secretary, said in a news release. "I'll sit down with my bee expert Jimmy Dunkley and other program directors Monday morning and we will begin implementing our action plan.

"In order for our beekeepers to continue to sell their queens and packages, they will have to show proof that their colonies are free of Africanized honeybees. The department's duty will be inspecting those operations and certifying the colonies that don't contain any Africanized honeybees."

Odom said inspectors collected the samples in June and the U.S. Department of Agriculture bee lab in Tucson, Ariz., confirmed Friday that the samples are Africanized honeybees.

In 2001, they were discovered in northeast Texas about 35 miles west of Caddo Parish. Earlier this year, Arkansas authorities also confirmed Africanized bees about seven miles north of the Louisiana border and two miles east of the Oklahoma border.

LDAF maintains a line of traps running north and south along the Texas border in order to detect entry of Africanized honeybees into the state. The traps are roughly two miles apart and contain a queen bee pheromone that attracts swarms of bees.

Other bee collections from traps in Caddo Parish have been made but they were all confirmed negative for Africanized honeybees.

"Africanized honeybees are a big threat to the public perception of beekeepers, many of whom have colonies of European honeybees in their own backyards," state apiarist Jimmy Dunkley said. "The department has been working with them so that when the Africanized bees arrive in our state, beekeepers can take measures to assure their neighbors that their hives are safe."

Dunkley pointed out that Africanized honeybees are smaller, more aggressive bees than the European honeybees commonly raised for honey production.

"Because Africanized bees have been labeled 'killer bees' for years, there's an idea around that they are bigger than European honeybees," Odom said. "The truth is they're actually smaller but a lot fiercer."

The Africanized bee has been migrating from South America since the 1950s. The bees are slightly smaller than other bees but look so similar to other bees that only lab tests can identify them. (Alisa Stingley,The Shreveport Times, 7/30/05.)

AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES FOUND IN LOUISIANA

CADDO PARISH, LA --- Nearly 30 years after a made-for-TV movie showed the Superdome saving New Orleans from "killer bees" during Mardi Gras, real Africanized honeybees have made it to Louisiana.

The state agriculture department got confirmation Friday afternoon from the USDA bee lab in Tucson, Ariz., Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom said. The bees in question were trapped in June near the Caddo Parish town of Rodessa, about 35 miles northwest of Shreveport, he said.

The insects are now known to be considerably less dangerous than thought in 1976, when "The Savage Bees" (which, according to the movie, "attack when annoyed by color or sound!" and, for some reason, fill their victims' stomachs) first aired.

In Texas, they have caused 11 deaths in the 15 years since their arrival. But if they feel threatened, they will attack in large numbers.

Louisiana beekeepers will have to have their swarms certified free of the strain to sell their bees, Odom said.

"The department's duty will be inspecting those operations and certifying the colonies that don't contain any Africanized honeybees," he said.

Africanized bees are the result of an experiment to increase honey production in Brazil. A swarm of the small, aggressive bees escaped the lab in 1957 and headed north. When they mated with native strains, the offspring turned out to be as aggressive as the African parents.

They reached Texas in 1990 and have spread west to California and east to Florida. A work crew in the southwest Oklahoma county of Tipton was attacked by a swarm in August 2004.

In late 2001, they were found in northeast Texas, about 35 miles west of Caddo Parish. Last month, they were confirmed in Brightstar, Ark., 10 miles north of Rodessa.

That same month, Texas - where the bees have caused 11 deaths in 15 years - ended a rule requiring beekeepers to have their swarms certified free of the bees before moving hives from one county to another. The quarantine had proved they were spreading by natural migration, not beekeepers, officials said.

"We've always said it's not a matter of if we get them but when we get them and now we know they're here," Odom said. "I'll sit down with my bee expert, Jimmy Dunkley, and other program directors Monday morning and we will begin implementing our action plan."

LDAF keeps a line of traps about two miles apart along the Texas border to find Africanized honeybees as they enter. The traps are roughly two miles apart and contain a queen bee pheromone that attracts swarms of bees.

"The department has been working ... so that when the Africanized bees arrive in our state, beekeepers can take measures to assure their neighbors that their hives are safe," Dunkley said.

Odom said Caddo Parish's 17 beekeepers have 811 colonies in 36 locations.

"Because Africanized bees have been labeled 'killer bees' for years, there's an idea around that they are bigger than European honeybees," Odom said. "The truth is they're actually smaller but a lot fiercer." (AP, 7/29/05.)

KILLER BEES IN FLORIDA CREATE CONCERNS

ARCADIA, FL -- The dreaded Africanized bees -- more commonly known as killer bees -- are in Florida and we better learn to live with them, the state says.

It's a fear realized for both the public and beekeepers after years of watching the killer bees' deadly migration in the United States.

"It has become clear that the Africanized honey bee population has grown and will continue to grow in Florida due to its numerous pathways into the state and the lack of effective eradication products or techniques," said Charles Bronson, commissioner of agriculture.

His department, he said, is "developing the tools to protect the beekeeping industry and educate the public on how to learn to live with this potentially dangerous insect."

Until this past week, Florida had not admitted the presence of killer bees, although 30 swarms have been identified in the past 22 years.

Killer bees aren't native to this continent, nor this part of the world. A scientific experiment gone awry allowed them to escape into Brazilian jungles in 1957 and the bees migrated through South and Central America into the United States. Some also entered from cargo ships and in 1990 the first of the feared bees was found in Texas.

The bees moved west and now populate all of the Southwest, including cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas. They've killed at least 15 people in Texas, five in Arizona. The actual number is unknown.

They were first found in Florida near Tampa in 2002. They've since been captured near the ports of Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami. Those captures went unpublicized.

But recent attacks might have forced to state to admit the killer bees are here.

In May, near LaBelle in Hendry County, a horse in a field was swarmed and stung to death by killer bees.

On July 2, a man riding his tractor in western Palm Beach County was attacked by "thousands and thousands of bees" and stung severely. "The swarm was literally the size of a building," David Owens said from his hospital bed. He survived the attack.

In this hemisphere, the deadly bees have swarmed and killed an estimated 1,000 people and 100,000 cattle. They have killed numerous pet dogs, potbelly pigs, geese and a 400-pound llama.

They are equipped to take over and dominate any bee population they encounter, including Florida's docile -- and essential -- European honey bees that are kept by the beekeeping industry to pollinate fruit and vegetable flowers.

The presence of Africanized bees is likely to change the state's bee balance in ways no one will like.

Bronson said farm workers now "co-exist peacefully" with European honey bees in colonies as close as 20 feet from them. But killer bees are vastly more territorial. Experts say they will fly a quarter-mile to attack a human if angered. And they don't attack singularly, but in full colony swarms.

As a consequence, Bronson said hives with these bees "would need to be placed as far away from farm workers as 1,000 feet."

"The department is working closely with the beekeeping industry to address how pollination practices will need to be modified due to the increase in Africanized honey bees," Bronson said.

Killer bees look similar to gentler honey bees, but their personalities are vastly different. European honey bees, the backbone of Florida's beekeeping industry with 250,000 managed colonies, are not easily disturbed.

African bees are easily disturbed. They hate even the sound of a lawn mower or field tractor. They will fly in huge numbers to attack a person or animal. Any attacking African bee emits an odor that becomes a magnet to the swarm.

Killer bees will hover above a person who leaps into a pond to escape the swarming attack. And they will seek out the nostrils, mouth, eyes and ear holes for specific attack.

Eradication is a last resort measure, the state said. "Adapting to the Africanized honey bee is the most logical approach," Bronson said.

"We feel that education is one of our most effective tools for dealing with a potentially more defensive hybridized honey bee," said Jerry Hayes, with the state's Department of Plant Industry. "Honey bees are critical to agriculture...and must be protected."

A week after the reports of attacks on the horse and a man were known, the state issued an advisory: "At some point," the state wrote, "the aggressive behavior of these bees will become more common. Interaction between (the bees) and people and animals will likely happen."

The threat posed by killer bees is enough for the state to initiate training of first responders in how to handle swarming killer bee attacks. Protective clothing will be a must.

What is happening now, Bronson said, is the Africanized bees are taking over feral colonies and some managed colonies. Once they move in, they produce a hybrid with dominant killer bee traits.

The hybrids are on record as killers, too.

The migration of killer bees to Florida is a potential economic blow to Florida's beekeepers, who collectively provide 17 million pounds of honey each year to the commercial market, worth about $13 million. The Africanized bees produce only one-fifth the honey of a European colony. And they have killed beekeepers elsewhere in the U.S. The first California fatality from killer bees was a beekeeper.

They also scare people, who might not want colonies anywhere near residential areas.

Worsening matters for beekeepers is a decade-long colony decimation by a mite called the varroa destructor. Killer bees seem to be acquiring resistance to that mite in ways not shared by European bees, the state said. When the mite kills off gentle feral colonies, the killer bees move in.

When virgin queen bees with Africanized bee fathers emerge, they destroy unemerged siblings -- the European ones. Since Africans emerge a day earlier, they have a clear advantage to dominate the colony.

"It's a biological advantage, skewing the number of wild colonies in favor of those headed by Africanized queens," said an Arizona researcher who has seen the shift in bee balance there.

"This is the worst-case scenario we were talking about 20 years ago," retired USDA researcher Gerald Loper said of the killer bee migration. "People would go to Brazil to see these bees and say, 'We don't want them here.' Well, they're here." (Robert Bowden, The Sun Herald, 7/25/05.)

AFRICAN BEES MAKE A HOME IN FLORIDA. LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT

LAKELAND, FL --- `Learning to Live With Africanized Honey Bees," read the headline on the release from Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson.

First introduced in Brazil in the 1950s, the African bees have already gained a foothold in Florida.

They're also known as "killer bees."

Hold the phone. I don't want to learn to live with a bee that attacks in swarms and can sting more than once, unlike its European cousins.

I'm still "learning to live" with fire ants, cockroaches that fly, suicidal love bugs, the threat of termites that can eat concrete and an assortment of other entomological tourists.

Growing up in Florida, we learned as kids to live with such things as snakes, alligators and mosquitoes.

These days in Florida, we're also learning to live, or cope, with floods, hurricanes, overpopulation, inadequate roads and an assortment of other ills.

Now, Africanized bees are setting up housekeeping with complete disregard to zoning codes. They don't even pay impact fees, even though bees that attack en masse and sting multiple times would clearly have an impact.

"It has become clear that the Africanized honey bee population has grown and will continue to grow in Florida due to its numerous pathways into the state and the lack of effective eradication products or techniques," Bronson said in the release. "The Department, in cooperation with other agricultural stakeholders, is developing the tools to protect the beekeeping industry and educate the public on how to learn to live with this potentially dangerous insect."

The problem is that no one has figured out how to kill the bad (African) bee, without killing the good (European) bee.

"Florida's beekeeping industry has grown tremendously over the years," Bronson said in the release. "Florida beekeepers are consistently among the nation's leaders in honey production with 17 million pounds produced each year.

"Honey is only part of the story. For every dollar of honey produced in Florida, approximately $150 is generated in "honey-bee-pollination services that allow fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts and other foods to So learn to live with them. But, the state wants you to know, there are defensive measures you can take if attacked: Run!

"In case of an attack by a swarm of defensive honey bees, emergency responders instruct people to: 1. Get away from the bees by going inside a building or car, or 2. Run in a zigzag pattern until the bees disperse (usually no more than one quarter of a mile). In all cases, report swarms of defensive bees to local pest control companies, emergency responders or the state's tollfree helpline number 1-888-397-1517."

Yeah, right. Ducking into a building or car is OK. But running a quarter-mile in a zigzag pattern, while wildly waving arms and screaming in panic, conflicts with another coping mechanism -- learning to live with growing older. (The Lakeland Ledger, Bill Bair, 7/24/05.)

KILLER BEES ARE COMMING! --- ER, THEY'RE HERE

ORLANDO, FL -- Please do not freak out after finding out what I'm getting ready to tell you. Widespread panic would not bode well for you, the community or my career.

But this is a very, very serious matter, and I am not making it up.

Attack-prone honeybees have invaded Florida and are spreading at a rate so alarming that state agriculture experts have announced a public education program to address the risks.

What risks? Well, uh, let's see . . . Unlike the regular honeybee, Africanized honeybees will defend their hives like a pit bull guards a ham bone. If they feel you are messing with them, they will attack and sting multiple times, pursuing people or animals up to a quarter-mile away.

Likewise, they aren't real nice to the friendly bees either. These suckers will invade the regular bees' hive, rid it of its queen and put their own queen in there! Talk about rude.

The Africanized honeybee was brought to Brazil in the 1950s for testing as a potential honey maker because it thrived in the tropics. Nobody really realized how mean they were back then. Well, you know how jars can slip out of your hands and such, so it's little wonder some escaped and spread into South and Central America and Mexico. The sneaky things are now established in the Southwestern United States.

They seem to be coming into Florida by way of cargo ships, mostly from Guatemala, and even in regular honeybee colonies that return to Florida after being shipped around the country for pollination purposes, including almond orchards in California, where the Africanized bee is established.

You know how the birds and the bees are so, of course, we now have continued crossbreeding of the Africanized bee with the gentle European honeybee here in Florida.

The Florida Department of Agriculture recently told of a study in which Africanized bee DNA was found in 40 of 93 samples taken from honeybee colonies in La Belle, a tiny town in South Florida, in May.

This is not good.

The experts are trying hard to get a grip on this thing, and Florida has the country's first Africanized bee-detection program jointly operated by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

While the good beekeepers of Florida account for a bunch of honey -- about 17 million pounds per year -- what's probably more important is the role bees play in pollinating other crops. These little guys are vital to the agriculture industry in more ways than just providing a sweet-to-eat treat. Some estimates say one-third of our food would vanish without bees helping out.

So, where does all this leave us?

With a few instructions on how to live peaceably with the invaders, I suppose.

Experts say if you amble upon a swarm of defensive honeybees, you should go inside a building or car and/or run in a zigzag pattern until they disperse, which probably won't be more than one-quarter mile. Certainly, don't fool around with them. (Kelly Griffith, Orlando Sentinel, 7/24/05.)

PUBLIC ADVISORY (FLORIDA)

GAINSVILLE, FL --- It has become clear that the Africanized honey bee (AHB) population has grown and will continue to grow in Florida due to its numerous pathways into the state and the lack of effective eradication products or techniques. The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, in cooperation with other agricultural stakeholders, is developing the tools to protect the beekeeping industry and educate the public on how to learn to live with this potentially dangerous insect. At some point, the aggressive behavior of these bees will become more common. Interaction between AHBs and people and animals will likely happen.

For the last decade, Florida has been surveying for the AHB and established the country’s first AHB detection program that is jointly operated by the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The program involves placing bait hives in ports, and educating ships’ crews and dockworkers to identify and report suspicious swarms. Today, nearly 500 bait hives are in place throughout the state, primarily in port areas, along Interstate-10 and on the Florida/Alabama border. The bait hives are checked on a three-week cycle based on the reproduction habits of the AHB.

Pathways for introduction of the AHB into Florida are numerous. AHB swarms have been intercepted 30 times in the past 22 years in Florida. The majority have come off ships from Guatemala. Since 2002, when the first AHBs were detected in the Tampa Bay area, 653 samples have been taken with 59 positive for AHB genetics.

Over the last several years, numerous attacks on humans and animals have been reported in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Emergency response agencies in these states have implemented first responder training programs as well as public education efforts. While there have been no attacks on humans reported in Florida, a horse in La Belle was attacked in May of this year.

As a state agency, your office may become actively involved in emergency situations. This letter provides some background information on the AHB situation. And to help you prepare for potential encounters with AHBs, we encourage you to follow the safety precautions listed below and to educate your staff as well.

AHB safety precautions:
* Be attuned and alert to buzzing in your environment – this may indicate a nest or swarm of bees.
* Use care when entering sheds or outbuildings where bees may nest.
* Examine work areas before using power equipment such as lawn mowers, weed cutters, and chain saws – the noise excites bees.
* Be alert when engaged in all outdoor activities.

F l o r i d a A g r i c u l t u r e a n d F o r e s t P r o d u c t s
$ 5 3 B i l l i o n f o r F l o r i d a ’ s E c o n o m y

* Teach respect and caution of all bees.
* Visit with a doctor about bee sting kits and procedures if sensitive to bee stings.
* Do not disturb a nest or swarm of bees, leave the area immediately, and contact a pest control company or your county extension agent.
* If attacked by aggressive bees, run as fast as possible to a safe area. Aggressive AHBs may
pursue for up to ¼ of a mile.

If stung:
* Go quickly to a safe area.
* Remove stingers by scraping – use a flicking action with a finger nail or credit card. Do not squeeze or the stinger may stay in and get infected
* Apply ice.
* Seek medical attention immediately if breathing becomes labored.

If you anticipate your personnel might be exposed to AHBs or asked to assist First Responders, a risk assessment should be preformed. Properly fitting protective equipment is a necessity. Full length “bee suits,” protective veils, hats and gloves with sleeve length extensions are available from most beekeeping supply distributors. Without the correct protective equipment and training, the potential rescuer may become an additional victim.

The Department is partnering with the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences on AHB response and control training initiatives and anticipates having a coordinated plan in a few months. During this developmental phase, please be aware, be alert and be cautious.

If you have any questions, need further clarification, or if we can assist you otherwise, contact Jerry Hayes 352/372-3505 x128 hayesg@doacs.state.fl.us or Denise Feiber, APR, 352-372-3505 x102 feiberd@doacs.state.fl.us. (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, CHARLES H. BRONSON, Commissioner, 7/21/05.)

WHEN ENCOUNTERING AFRICANIZED BEES, A DAYTRIPPER SHOULD BE WARY

MIDLAND, TX ---- "I'm getting a mite nervous, Ernie." Ernie Showalter, my guide for the day, stood underneath fifty bees on a wall. He did not pay the bees "any mind at all." We were at the headquarters to a ranch that must remain nameless for this story. No had lived on the ranch for years, and the grazing rights were leased out to someone who visited a couple times a week to check on the livestock.

The bees were "oozing" out of a crack between the veranda roof and the wall, not moving much, but slowly increasing in number. "Any bees in the wild are Africanized, Ernie." Ernie shrugged and said it would be okay, and opened the door below the bees. I took another look at them, and slowly sidled in, as well.

The building was an old bunkhouse, a big room that had been divided by curtains for each bed. A big fireplace was on the north wall, and beyond a cooking area on the east end was an indoor restroom. "Isn't this great construction? Look at these 3 by 12s for the rafters. And the old brick - it is like brick seen in streets. Doesn't this place give you a good image of life on a ranch before World War II? I can see this room full of cowboys getting ready in the morning to go out and put fly dope on injured cattle, or sitting around at night hoo-rawing the youngest hand. The wide verandah on the north side would have had chairsÉ"

Ernie kept glancing around, his imagination working overtime. "What is all of this on the floor?" Ernie pointed at what looked like an old tattered carpet on the floor, covering 600 square feet or more. He knelt down and scooped up a handful of the material. "This is nothing but dead bees!" We looked around, and there were other parts of the floor covered with more dead bees. "There must be a million dead bees in here!" I heard bees buzzing, and they were beginning to buzz louder.

"I am sorry, Ernie, but I gotta get out of here, I'm spooked." Embarrassed about my fear, I bolted, only slowing as I passed under the bees at the door. Thirty feet away, I stopped and waited for Ernie, watching the bees, praying they did not swarm him.

Ernie is a retired field engineer. I have known him since the early 1980's when some friends and I formed a group to promote the Sibley Nature Center. The Sibley building was not a reality yet, so the group met at Midland College and showed the Chihuahua Desert Research Institute's trilogy of films and invited other speakers. Ernie had traveled the world working for GE, Sargent Industries, and Weatherford ALS, among others. He'd also spent years roaming the oil fields of West Texas, too. Nowadays he volunteers for the Children's Clinic and is a member of with the Comanche Trails Woodturners.

"I don't buy finished wood. I like the stories of wood I find - the type of plant and its story of survival in the desert. It is such interesting wood because of how the climate, insects, and age all affect it. Most desert wood is close grained, too. Anything you make shows you a little about the history of the wood, too." When he had picked me up for our adventure, he had given the Sibley Center several walking sticks made from the flower stalks of the sotol plants in its parking lot.

Ernie knows the owner of the ranch, and had received permission to gather some wood for some of his projects. Knowing that I like to roam ranch land and am interested in history, he had invited me out to investigate the site. The trip was planned as an adventure of interpretation. We tried to determine what different artifacts and buildings were used for, and when the buildings were made. Ernie was lucky. The bees did not swarm. There was a light rain falling, which probably kept them pacified.

As he joined me, I told him about the horse being killed by Africanized bees in Greenwood this spring, and all of the reports of "killer bee" attacks over West Texas recently. "A fellow died in Big Spring last year, Ernie. We just did something crazy. And this is the second time for me this year. Deborah and I investigated an abandoned house earlier this year, and when bees came boiling out of it, we left." On a Discovery Channel program I had learned that the first bees of a colony often headbutt any mammalian intruders when they get too near the nest. If a person walks away after a headbutt, the bees probably do not attack, but if an intruder persists, killer bees aggressively attack.

Africanized bees, after entering the United States in the early 1990's, have taken over much of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern California. If a person sees a wild swarm of bees throughout this region, they are "more than likely" to be Africanized. Like rattlesnakes, Africanized bees are a fact of life in the region where we live. There is no way to ever get rid of all of them - there is too much open country with the right habitat requirements of a dab of water and a place to construct a hive. The hives can be in abandoned houses, abandoned water wells, in cavities of trees, in caves on cliffs, and even in old badger or coyote dens.

Ernie and I roamed around the structures of the old headquarters; barns, ranch dump, corrals, foreman's house, owner's house, silo, and more for over two hours. We did not see another bee. But when we returned to the truck, a bee headbutted me. (We were parked 75 feet from the old bunkhouse.)

When we pulled away, I looked back at the door where we had first noticed the bees. Several hundred bees were whirling in the air between the truck and the structure. Africanized bees are easily annoyed by the sound of small engines such as lawnmowers and leafblowers, but are also often agitated by car and truck engines. Africanized bees have been recorded following an intruder up to a half-mile from the hive. I prayed they did not follow us to the gate. (Shanna Sissom, Midland Reporter Telegram, 7/20/05.)

DOMESTIC BEES BLAMED FOR MAN'S DEATH

SULPHUR SPRINGS, TX — Bees that attacked and caused the of death of a 78-year-old Paris man working in Northern Hopkins County are not Africanized, Texas A&M University researchers say.

“We got in test results late (Tuesday) afternoon from the Texas A&M entomologist, and they’re just European regular honey bees,” Hopkins County Texas Cooperative Extension Agency Agriculture Agent Larry Spradlin said.

Charles Malone of Paris was attacked July 7 by the European honey bees while doing bulldozer work at what is known as the old Dunham Ranch near Sulphur Bluff. Hopkins County Justice of the Peace Ronny Glossup pronounced Malone dead at the scene.

Final autopsy results are pending and may take several months, Glossup said.

Investigator Andy Chester said Malone hit a dead tree, causing the bees to swarm. Malone was stung at least 20 times on the face and head, Chester said.

Africanized bees exhibit much more aggressive behavior than common European honey bees, according to Texas A&M University’s online bee resource — http://honeybee.tamu.edu. The more aggressive bees sting in large numbers and often chase enemies up to a quarter of a mile. They also nest in smaller cavities and sometimes underground.

While the bees that attacked Malone are European, Africanized bees, also known as “killer bees” are prevalent across the state. The extension agent also said he expects Africanized bees to move into the area eventually.

“We have not had any incidents of Africanized bees in this area,” Spradlin said, noting killer bees have been reported as close as Tarrant County and Palestine.

Texas A&M University advises taking a better-safe-than-sorry approach to bees.

“The current policy in teaching the public about Africanized bees is for everyone to consider the entire state as Africanized,” Dr. Tanya Pankiw of Texas A&M University said in a written statement. “Africanized bees have been collected in over 50 percent of the counties of Texas.”

Especially in light of Malone’s death, it is important to keep on the lookout for bees, Spradlin said.

“This is a very unfortunate incident, but maybe people will take heed of what’s around us, “ he said.

The best way to avoid being stung is to leave bees alone, Spradlin said. Most bees in Northeast Texas are nonaggressive, but at this time of year, bees begin foraging for the fall and winter and become more aggressive.

“If I could give anybody some advice, it would be if you see them, leave them alone, and you’ll be OK,” the extension agent said.

Bees are very sensitive to sound and vibration, he said, so anyone who plans on running a tractor with an open cab, a lawn mower or any other loud equipment should be aware of their surroundings.

“You need to be doing some checking especially if you’re in a place that hasn’t been mowed in a while,” he said adding that 90 percent of bee hives are in the ground.

In the event of a bee attack, it it best to seek the nearest shelter, such as the inside of a vehicle or a house, the extension agent said. Texas A&M officials recommend not attempting to swat bees because sudden movement encourages them to attack. It is also advised to cover the facial area to avoid major injuries. If stung, it is best to remove stingers from the skin as soon as possible and seek medical attention if breathing is difficult, or having suffered many stings.

Africanized bees are nearly identical in appearance to domesticated honey bees, Spradlin said. The only way to determine the difference is with specialized equipment and computers. The extension agent said he sent approximately half a pint jar full of bees to College Station for analysis.

It is best to never disturb a swarm or colony of bees, Texas A&M officials say. Contact a pest control company or your local Cooperative Extension Agent for more information or if bees are found. Extension offices are available at the following numbers: Lamar County, 903-737-2443; Red River County, 903-427-3867 ; Delta County, 903-395-4400; and Fannin County, 903-583-7453 .

Africanized bees are hybrids of African bees, which were brought to Brazil in 1956 , and European bees. The first colony to reach the United States was detected in Hildalgo, 34 years after their initial arrival in Brazil, according to Texas A&M officials. Today, Africanized bees are distributed throughout Texas and Arizona as well as in southern regions of New Mexico and California. (Josh Edwards, The Paris News, 7/14/05.)

BEES ATTACK ROOSEVELT RESIDENTS

ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NM --- Africanized honey bees have been identified in Roosevelt County, according to a release from the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service.

“The colony was discovered in the wall of a house in the Causey-Lingo area,” said Bill Moyer, a local beekeeper.

The bees attacked residents of the home, Moyer said, in response to the sound of a lawn mower. The bees, Moyer said, judged the sound of the mower as an attack on the colony.

One person in the home was sent to the hospital with anaphylactic shock, while another just suffered stinging. Moyer declined to identify the residents of the home.

The colony is the only known colony of Africanized bees in Roosevelt County. Roosevelt is the 12th county in New Mexico to confirm presence of the bees.

African honey bees are scientifically recognized as being a subspecies of the more popular European honey bee. The bees are so similar in appearance that their differences can only be distinguished in a lab.

The bees are similar in biological terms as well according to Moyer, who has been a beekeeper in Portales for about three years.

“Both Africanized honey bees and European honey bees have the same amount of venom in them,” Moyer said. The difference between the varieties, Moyer said, is that the Africanized bees are more aggressive in protecting either their colony or their offspring.

Moyer suggests not taking direct action on any colony of bees.

“The best thing that any person can do is leave them alone and contact the extension office (356-4417),” Moyer said. “The worst thing a person can do is spray a colony with bug spray (because the bees regard that as an attack).”

Moyer said as a defense mechanism the bees will butt or push against a person that is seen as a threat to the colony.

“These bees are not killers (by choice),” Moyer said. “They defend their colonies aggressively.”

Moyer said everyone should be concerned about bees and more observant of the area around them.

“I have removed bees from a city water meter box as well as a dirt pile,” Moyer said.

Carol Sutherland, a New Mexico State University Extension entomologist and a state entomologist for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, echoed Moyers’ instructions.

“When you come across them, it is a good time to get a professional pest control operator out to remove them,” Sutherland said. “I do not recommend anyone trying to remove the colonies themselves.

“Like Mom said when you were younger, you need to leave them alone.”

Sutherland said more bee-related incidents may arise in Roosevelt County in the coming months.

“People need to be a lot more alert and observant of bees,” Sutherland said.

A report by Sutherland said that Africanized honey bees first arrived in the United States in 1990.

The bees were first introduced into Brazil in the 1950s to breed a honey bee that was a better pollinator and honey producer for the tropical area, but the Africanized bees escaped from a breeding facility there. Since then, the bees have become established in most of South America, according to Sutherland’s report. (Marc Schoder; Clovis News Journal, 7/14/05.)

MAN ATTACKED BY SWARM BELIEVED TO BE 'KILLER BEES'

PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL. -- A Boynton Beach man is still recovering after being stung dozens of times, and now scientists are trying to determine if he was attacked by Africanized killer bees.

David Owens manages a 400-acre piece of land in western Palm Beach County. He was working with a bulldozer on the property on July 2 when he was attacked by a huge swam of bees.

"The swarm was literally like the size of a building," Owens said. "Thousands and thousands of bees."

With the help of ranch hands, Owens was able to drive to a hospital. He says he was stung as many as 75 times.

Scientists from the state Department of Agriculture and Florida State University are performing DNA tests and taking measurements of the bees to see if they are the smaller, Africanized honey bees, often referred to as killer bees.

Africanized bees have killed people in Mexico, Texas, California and a horse in Hendry County.

If the swarm proves to be killer bees, it would be the first found south of Orlando.(WPLG-TV 10 NEWS, Miami-Ft Lauderdale, 7/13/05.)

BEE STINGS BELIEVED CAUSE OF DEATH
Dozer operator stung multiple times

HOPKINS COUNTY, TX --- An attack by bees is being blamed as the cause of death of a bulldozer operator working in northern Hopkins County Thursday morning.

Justice of the Peace Ronny Glossup identified the man as Charles Malone, 78, of Paris.

Malone was working on what is known as the old Dunham Ranch, north of Sulphur Bluff, when he was swarmed by bees, according to Investigator Andy Chester with the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office.

“He was running a dozer and pushing some timber and hit an old dead tree,” Chester said. “He got swarmed by bees -- we are not sure what kind, but we just know they are black bees. They say they run into them all the time.”

The investigator said the man was stung multiple times, with at least 20 of the stings on his head. Chester said the man was able to get off his bulldozer and walk more than a quarter-mile to his pickup, get in and start the air conditioning.

“His partner, former Delta County Commissioner Micky Goforth, thought he pushed a dead tree down and [bees] swarmed out of it,” Judge Glossup said. “They just swarmed him.”

Glossup said the attack was not the first for the area, but the first to result in a death.

“Those guys running those dozers, they are into that stuff all the time,” Glossup said.

The judge said the attack occurred in a remote location that was more than five miles from the end of paved roadways and near the intersection of Hopkins, Delta and Franklin county lines.

Stings from bees, wasps, yellow jackets, hornets and ants account for more deaths in the United States than any other venomous creatures, according to information from emedicine.com. Most deaths are from allergic reactions, some are from the toxicity of the venom. In about half of the fatalities, death occurs within 30 minutes of the sting, and 75 percent within four hours.

In a preliminary ruling, Glossup attributed the death to the large number of bee stings. He said he was going to order an autopsy, however, to determine the exact cause of death.

Tapp Funeral Home was called to the scene and is in charge of local arrangements. (Kerry Craig, Sulphur Springs News-Telegram, 7/7/05.)

KILLER BEES MAKE PRESENCE FELT IN VALLEY

EDINBURG, TX — Mike Quinn recalled sprinting more than 200 yards to escape thousands of Africanized honey bees in Rio Hondo a few years ago.

“I was stung several times,” said the Texas Parks and Wildlife invertebrate biologist.

He’s lucky. An allergic person stung by a bee could have a fatal reaction, and even nonfatal stings re-quire two to three weeks of recovery, said Edinburg Fire Department Chief Shawn Snider.

“We’ve seen people attacked by hundreds and thousands of them,” he said.

Weekly bee incidents involving the Africanized species have prompted several fire department and city health officials to advise bee attack prevention guidelines.

The species often involved in attacks are crossbreds of the Africanized bee and the honey bee.

Africanized honey bees, commonly known as “killer bees,” have an aggressive nature; a hive can con-tain anywhere from 40,000 to 50,000 bees, Quinn said.

“They have an attitude. They get upset more quickly and sting more quickly,” said Bob Cox, an ento-mologist at the Kiki de la Garza Subtropical Agricultural Resource Center in Weslaco.

Surveying an area before doing any loud or disruptive activity could prevent Africanized bee trouble, Snider said.

“The citizen needs to be aware of their surroundings,” he said. “You need to have awareness in parks, yards and your streets in relation to bees.”

The fire department responds to three to five bee attacks a week, he said.

Home infestations must be handled by pest control as soon as possible, Cox said. “You should be care-ful and not disturb them,” he said. “Call a pest control operator. Don’t try to control them at home.”

Dry weather and a lack of rainfall has increased bee congregation at sprinklers, swimming pools and other sources of moisture, he said.

But “they’re not aggressive when they’re out foraging,” Cox said. “Aggressiveness (occurs) if only you approach within 10 feet of them or their colony.”

Africanized bees entered the United States through the city of Hidalgo in 1990, according to Texas A&M University’s Web site.

“They’ve spread throughout the southwestern United States,” Quinn said. “They’re throughout most of Texas and we cannot put the genie back in the bottle.”

Bees can lodge anywhere: inside or outside a home, trees, even clotheslines and tall grass, Snider said.

Unlike Africanized bees, honey bees are vital to agriculture, Snider said.

“Honey bees in the Rio Grande Valley are just as important as rain,” he said. “Without their assistance through the pollination process, food crops would diminish tremendously.”

Honey bees, which look almost identical to the Africanized specimen, have been in the country since the 1620s, Cox said. (Jennifer C. Smith, The Brownsville Herald, 7/3/05.)

BEE QUARANTINE ENDS IN TEXAS

COLLEGE STATION, TX – Crawling over and under boxcars, 18-wheelers, travel trailers and mobile homes. It's not what Paul Jackson expected in his duties as state inspector for the Texas Apiary Inspection Service.

But since 1990, those and many other unusual places have become common territory for Jackson and his team in their pursuit of the Africanized honey bee.

"We learned a lot about them and how they differ from the European or regular honey bees," Jackson said. "The process of quarantining counties where they were found enabled us to discover a lot of interesting points about these bees."

Jackson said because the bees are in more than 60 percent of the state, the apiary inspection service will no longer be quarantining counties. But the bee identification lab will continue to analyze samples to confirm counties where Africanized honey bees are detected. The latest detection, in Lynn County south of Lubbock, means 159 of the state's 254 counties have the bees.

When Africanized honey bees first arrived in Texas in October 1990, the state's officials quickly acted with U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to quarantine 10 counties surrounding the site near Hidalgo where the wild colony was discovered. After that, each time a sample was confirmed in a new area, that county would be quarantined.

Jackson noted that the quarantine meant that commercial bee operations could not move their hives to an Africanized honey bee-free county without first having samples taken to certify they were not contaminated with the more defensive bees. Commercial beekeepers paid for the service while the public at-large could send samples to the identification lab for free analysis.

"Among the benefits of the quarantine for the past 15 years is that we showed that beekeepers were not the problem with the spread of AHB," Jackson said. "The quarantine proved that the spread of AHB in Texas is the result of natural migration of the insect."

After the bees were first detected in the United States (at the Texas location), they moved westward and have since been found in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. No other state opted to quarantine their counties upon detection of the bees.

But Jackson believes the Texas effort provided a lot of information that researchers may continue to examine for years.

"Another thing we learned is that the AHB didn't migrate the way we expected them," he said. "They went north and west, while we originally thought they would go east."

The direction of migration, Jackson said, pointed out that the bees are subtropical in nature and desire semi-arid regions as opposed to the southeastern portion of the United States where it is generally wetter. Scientists and bee experts figured before their arrival that Africanized honey bees would need a constant flow of pollen and nectar, preferring warm, wet areas where flowers are almost constantly in bloom.

"They also hopped on railroad cars, 18-wheelers and all sorts of other modes of travel," Jackson said. "We had not experienced that before, with regular honey bees."

At one point, Jackson supervised four inspectors who traveled the state checking trap boxes that extended from Louisiana to New Mexico. He said one goal of that effort was to keep people informed about the location of Africanized honey bees, while teaching the public how to live safely around the new pest.

Though the apiary inspection service will no longer quarantine counties for Africanized honey bees, Jackson said, beekeepers still can use the lab to verify that their hives are not invaded by the bee, and the public still will be allowed to send samples for identification.

Information about the detection of Africanized honey bees in Texas will be updated at http://honeybee.tamu.edu More information is available from Jackson at (979) 845-9714. (Kathleen Phillips, AgNews, Texas A&M University System Agriculture Program, 6/22/05.)

HONEY INDUSTRY COULD FEEL SHARP STING OF AFRICAN BEES

GAINSVILLE, FL --- The African honeybee is a bee with Attitude . . . capital A. And like so many other transplants who visit Florida, it is probably here to stay.

Florida's warm climate is ideal for these bees, and that could spell bad news for the state's $16 million honey industry, warns Glenn Hall, associate professor of entomology at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science.

"If African honeybees become established in large numbers over the next few years, they will affect the beekeeping industry and the pollination of many crops," Hall said. "Public safety, recreation and tourism may also be affected."

Hall, a bee geneticist who developed DNA markers to identify African honeybees, said the species, although slightly smaller, looks the same as resident European honeybees. Unless, of course, they get stirred up.

"They are extremely defensive and if you get close to the hive they can explode and start stinging in large numbers," Hall said. "They will also chase an intruder for long distances to get rid of it."

It's that kind of behavior that has earned the African honeybee the unfortunate title of "killer bee," the researcher said.

They have attacked and killed people and livestock in Africa, South and Central America, and there have been 14 fatalities reported in the United States.

Hall said most people, unless they were trapped or disabled by multiple stings, would probably escape a swarm with a painful - but hardly fatal - lesson learned.

The African honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) is adapted for survival in Africa's harsh environment, where climate, predation and other factors have produced a hardy race, Hall said. In the 1950s, Brazilian scientists thought that the bees from tropical regions in Africa might thrive in South America's tropical environment better than the previously imported European honeybees.

"They were right," Hall said. "Once the African honeybees were released in Brazil, they quickly spread throughout South and Central America, advancing up to 300 kilometers a year through the tropics into Mexico. It was only a matter of time until the African honeybee population reached the United States."

The invading species has been turning up periodically at most of Florida's deep-sea ports since 1987, according to Hall.

None of the African honeybees have been reported in North Central Florida - yet.

Hall said the infestation around Tampa is still small, and the bees are not unusually aggressive. He explained that as isolated swarms enter through the ports, daughter African queens from the swarms have no choice but to mate with the resident European male drones. Fortunately, the hybrid offspring are not as aggressive as their African parents.

In South and Central America, most of the honey industries have built back up as they've learned how to work with the more aggressive "Africanized" honeybees, Hall noted. For a while, however, regular beekeeping operations with European honeybees were disrupted when the invaders moved in, adding to the costs of bee management.

Hall hopes the spread of African bees and the increasing urbanization of the state won't discourage Florida beekeepers.

"Large populations of European honeybees managed by beekeepers are probably our best defense," Hall said, explaining that as the two species interbreed, some of the African bees' aggressive stinging behavior may disappear. (Diane Chun, The Gainesville Sun, 6/21/05.)

CAR DEALER SAVES WOMAN FROM SWARM OF BEES

CEDAR SPRINGS, TX -- Denise Brown said she loves nature as long as it doesn't touch her. But Sunday afternoon nature more than touched the Waco resident, it assaulted her with nearly 50 stings from a swarm of bees in Falls County.

Brown credits a neighborly visit by Gordon Rountree Jr. with saving her life. Rountree, who owns Rountree Cadillac-Mitsubishi in Waco, has a ranch nearby in Cedar Springs, where Brown was clearing a piece of land.

Without Rountree at the scene, Brown said she believes "the outcome would have been a lot different."

Rountree dropped by to chat after morning church services at Cedar Springs Baptist Church. He said he didn't even know who was out on the land at the time, but thought he'd stop in to say hello.

"I'd already driven past about 50 yards when I thought I'd go back there and go in," Rountree said. "I'm glad I did."

Brown and her companion, Les Smith, had started clearing the 75-acre area last weekend for building a house and didn't realize Rountree, an old school friend of Smith, lived close by. Brown said she continued to use a weed trimmer around a large oak tree while Rountree talked to Smith.

"I saw a hole in the ground going underneath the tree, so I was trying to take precautions in case an animal came out," said Brown, who was wearing long sleeves and cotton gloves to protect herself while working outdoors.

Instead of the animal Brown had expected, hundreds of the stinging insects bombarded her, she said.

"Mr. Rountree was trying to swat them away from me and he looked up and saw the swarm headed for us," Brown said. "I was just feeling the stings. I couldn't see the swarm."

Rountree and Smith both described the scene as a "cloud of bees."

"There were millions of them," Smith said. "You really couldn't see them because they were so small, but they were everywhere."

Brown jumped into the cab of her truck to escape, but the back windows were down, so the bees followed her inside. While Brown searched for more clothing to protect herself, Rountree picked up Smith, who had been chased for nearly 100 yards, in his own vehicle and pulled up next to Brown to get her away from the swarm.

"They tell you to stand still," Smith said. "But that's only good in theory. When they came after me, running was the only alternative I had."

Even with Smith and Brown safe inside the truck, Rountree said the bees' attack didn't subside.

"They were hitting the windows trying to get in the truck with us," he said.

Rountree drove Brown and Smith to Falls Community Hospital in Marlin, where they removed about 50 stingers from Brown's face and hands. At the hospital, she received two shots -– one to combat the bees' venom and the other to calm her down.

Smith estimates he was stung between 20 and 30 times, but didn't seek medical help. Rountree said he was stung only about four times.

After the hospital visit, Rountree made calls to alert wildlife authorities about the nest. The trio believes the bees were Africanized honey bees, which are noted for their aggressive behavior.

A spokeswoman at the Falls County Extension Office said only laboratory tests can determine if the bees encountered in Cedar Springs are of the Africanized variety.

Africanized honey bees have been collected from more than half of the counties in Texas, including Falls County, according to the Texas A&M department of entomology Web site.

Brown said she didn't know what they would have done if Rountree hadn't kept a level head.

"He maintained being calm and got us out of a hard situation," Brown said.

Smith agreed.

"It would have been highly, highly difficult to make it through that without him there," he said. (Kelly Coleman, Waco Tribune-Herald, 6/21/05.)

BEE AWARE! AFRICANIZED HONEY BEES BECOMING ESTABLISHED IN FLORIDA

GAINESVILLE, FL --- African honeybees — also known as killer bees — have entered Florida, and a University of Florida researcher says the aggressive insects may eventually spread throughout the state and move into other areas of the southeastern United States.

The bees, which tend to sting in large numbers, have been found and stopped at various Florida ports over the past decade, but now it looks like they’re here to stay, said Glenn Hall, an associate professor of entomology at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He said Florida’s warm climate is ideal for the bees, which could be bad news for the state’s $16 million honeybee industry.

“If African honeybees become established in large numbers over the next few years, they will affect the beekeeping industry and the pollination of many crops,” Hall said. “Public safety, recreation and tourism may also be affected, leading to liability problems.”

Hall, a bee geneticist who developed DNA markers to identify African honeybees, said that — to the untrained eye — they look the same as resident European honeybees.

African bees more aggressively defend their nests than European bees. African bees may swarm as many as 16 times a year while European bees swarm about three times a year, he said.

The African bees invaded five southwestern states in the 1990s and have periodically turned up at Florida’s deep-sea ports since 1987, Hall said. Until recently, swarms entering through ports such as Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa have been successfully captured in bait hives maintained by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“However, new finds in the Tampa area suggest that African bees are spreading and becoming established in the state, and they are being found farther inland from the ports,” Hall said. “We did not believe that enough bees could arrive on ships to form an established population, but they did so in Puerto Rico, and now appear to be doing the same in Florida.”

He said the infestation around Tampa is still small, and the bees are not unusually aggressive. As isolated swarms enter one by one through the ports, daughter African queens from the swarms have no choice but to mate with the resident European male drones. Fortunately, the hybrid offspring are not as aggressive as their African parents.

“Once the combination of hybrids and new introductions reaches a critical mass, bees of African descent will likely start to mate with each other, resulting in offspring with more African-like characteristics,” Hall said.

He said that the arrival of African bees is not unexpected and should not be viewed with undue alarm at this time.

“Concerns about the bees have been exaggerated, with some media and motion pictures portraying swarms of deadly, stinging insects invading cities,” Hall said. “Nevertheless, it’s important to be aware. African bees have attacked and killed people and livestock in Africa, in South and Central America, and in other states.”

There have been 14 fatalities in the United States, and hundreds of nonfatal stinging incidents have been reported.

Neither the European nor African race of honeybee is native to the Americas, Hall said. The European honeybee (Apis mellifera) has been managed by commercial and hobby beekeepers worldwide for many centuries, selected for desirable traits such as gentleness, honey production, tendency not to swarm, winter hardiness and disease resistance.

On the other hand, the African honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) is adapted for survival in Africa’s harsh environment where climate, predation and other factors have produced a hardy race, Hall said. (Chuck Woods, University Of Florida News, 6/20/05.)

AFRICANIZED BEES FOUND IN ARKANSAS

BRIGHTSTAR, AR --- Africanized Bees, better known as killer bees, have been spotted in southwest Arkansas. State officials tracked their migration from Texas to Brightstar. While authorities say the bees can be deadly, they don't want to cause people to panic.

Experts whose goal is to preserve the bee population say they're not trying to scare you, but to educate you, for your sake, and for the sake of the bees. Brightstar, a tiny Arkansas town bordering Texas, didn't know it had an Africanized Bee population, but with all the recent buzz, residents do now. The state plant board just confirmed their presence.

Ed Levi, State Plant Board Bee Expert, said "We've been using traps like these with lures in them to attract swarms."

While the commonly referred name of killer bees is due to their aggressive nature:

Added Levi, "Honeybees in general are very defensive. Some are more defensive than others. Bees that come from Africa have also become more defensive because they had a lot more predators."

Levi says honeybees play a significant role helping produce 1/3 of the food supply, providing more than $14 billion in agricultural products. Africanized Bees migrated to the U.S. after being introduced to Brazil to improve the honey industry in 1956.

"If somebody sees a colony of bees, they need to get away from it. If they get stung, they need to get away a little faster. If they're getting a lot of stings, they need to run to a place of safety", said Levi.

Nationwide, 15 have died from Africanized Honeybee strings, because when they attack, they usually do it in droves. No deaths have been reported in Arkansas, and officials want to keep it that way.

Levi advised, "You just need to respect the space of bees."

Don't handle beehives yourself. Contact the state plant board. (Pamela Smith, KATV-7 News, Little Rock, 6/17/05.)

LYNN COUNTY QUARANTINED FOR AFRICANIZED HONEY BEES

TAHOKA, TX – Lynn County was added today to the state quarantine restricting the movement of commercial bee operations following the detection of Africanized honey bees near here.

The addition makes 159 counties in Texas now quarantined for Africanized honey bees, according to Paul Jackson, chief of the Texas Apiary Inspection Service, a unit of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

A sample of wild bees was collected from a colony that had established itself in an old farm house about 10 miles southeast of Tahoka. The sample was sent to the Texas Honey Bee Identification Lab in College Station where a lab test confirmed them as Africanized.

A farmer working at the house was stung a few times by bees from the colony but was not seriously injured, Jackson said.

The quarantine allows beekeepers to move beehives within, but not out of, the zone in an effort to prevent assisting the spread, Jackson said. Africanized honey bees look just like regular domestic honey bees but are more defensive in protecting their hives, according to Jackson.

The Africanized bee was first detected in the United States near Brownsville in October 1990. Africanized honey bees also have been found in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. (Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M Agricultural News, 6/16/05.)

"KILLER" BEES CONFIRMED IN McCLAIN COUNTY

PURCELL, OK -- Bees that sting more and pursue a person further have been confirmed to be in McClain County.
Roy Don Hanan, OSU Extension Educator for Agriculture and county extension director, said the Africanized honey bee was confirmed to be in the county on Monday.
A bee was sent in to OSU for confirmation. It was DNA tested and the results confirmed. Hanan was unsure what part of the county the bee was found.
Over the past few years, the Africanized honey bees have been located in Oklahoma. Last year, they were located in Garvin and Pottawatomie counties and this year, McClain and Cleveland.
The bees acquired the name “killer bees” because they will viciously attack people and animals who unwittingly stray into their territory.
“The bees will sting more and chase you further,” Hanan said. “It’s not like our common European bee which will not chase a person as far.
“You can’t really tell the difference between the bees other than the Africanized honey bee is a lot more aggressive,” Hanan continued.
Hanan said a person would be more likely to be killed by lightning then a bee sting. In the United States, 80 people are killed by lightning a year, while only 20 die from bee stings.
“It takes eight to 10 stings per pound of body weight to harm a person,” Hanan said. “For example, 2,000 stings to a 200 pound individual would be a lethal dose.”
The best safety advice is to avoid an encounter with the unfriendly insect. Be alert for danger and remember that the bees sting to defend their colony. Be on the lookout for honey bee swarms and colonies. (The Purcell Register, 6/9/05.)

BEES ATTACK BOY, GRANDMOTHER, FIREFIGHTER

LONG BEACH, CA — A group of bees stung a 9-year-old boy, his grandmother and a firefighter Tuesday afternoon, but the three were not seriously hurt, a firefighter said.

It wasn't clear what set off the bees, or whether it was a whole swarm that attacked them shortly after 4 p.m. in the 1900 block of Pacific Avenue, said Long Beach Firefighter Paul Rodriguez. The attack came from a hive inside the exterior wall of a two-story apartment, he said.

The boy and the grandmother were only stung a few times, and the firefighter was stung once after he arrived on the scene. None of them needed to be hospitalized, Rodriguez said.

City vector control workers came to assess the situation, but they weren't able to exterminate the hive because it was on private property, Rodriguez said. The building's owner was advised to call a private exterminator, he said.

It wasn't clear whether the bees were Africanized, or "killer," bees, which are more likely to attack as a swarm without provocation. Bee attacks have become more ferocious in recent years as Africanized bees have spread across the Southland. A dog was killed Friday night after he was stung about 200 or 300 times in the 6400 block of Lewis Avenue, but Rodriguez said it wasn't known yet whether they were Africanized bees.

Rodriguez said that firefighters and city vector control workers will respond when bees attack, but that city workers can't exterminate the bees on private property after they've settled down. He said that property owners should call an exterminator if they find a permanent hive, and that people can avoid getting stung by using their heads.

"We always caution people to give (the bees) a wide berth, to be aware out there, and don't try to provoke them," Rodriguez said. (David Rogers, Long Beach Press Telegram, 5/31/05.)

AFRICANIZED BEES NOW DISCOVERED IN 17 OKLAHOMA COUNTIES

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- Africanized bees have spread to 17 counties since they were first discovered last year in southwestern Oklahoma.

Last August they attacked a work crew in Tillman County, stinging them dozens of time. Several crew members were treated at a hospital.

In the past 12 months, the bees have been reported as far north as Roger Mills County in western Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State University entomology professor Phil Mulder said today the bees are something Oklahomans will have to live with.

They are similar in appearance to common honey but unlike those bees, the Africanized bees will attack, and the swarm will pursue people for longer distances.

Other counties where the Africanized bees have been found are Beckham, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa, Washita, Caddo, Comanche, Grady, Jefferson, Garvin, Cleveland, Pottawatomie, Johnston, Bryan and McIntosh.

Scientists are still evaluating bees from Tulsa and McCurtain to see if they have spread there as well. (AP, 5/31/05.)

SIX STUNG AS 'KILLER' BEES BURST FROM HIVE

HOYT, AZ --- Thousands of insects attack in Foothills; no one hurt badly
Jon Hoyt was just joking Thursday when he pointed at a buzzing bee near his front door and told a friend it was an "attack bee."

Then the swarm came.

Several thousand very aggressive bees exploded from a nearby hive box and stung six people in the Foothills neighborhood before firefighters could destroy the insects.

It was one of two bee incidents in Tucson on Thursday, but no one suffered serious injuries in either.

The bees near Hoyt were disturbed when a man went to harvest honey from the hive at his home near North Swan and East River roads, said Rick Flores, a Rural/Metro Fire Department battalion chief. The hive had been taken over by Africanized "killer" bees.

The cloud of bees moved through the neighborhood, first finding a woman and her two young children leaving Hoyt's house. When they saw one angry bee, they ran to their truck.

"Next thing I know, the kids started screaming like crazy," Hoyt said.

The trio panicked and ran inside, with about 20 bees chasing them.

"Every bee I could see out there was following them," Hoyt said.

He didn't have time to think. The chase continued as they all ran in circles around an inside atrium, but the adults got the kids into a bathroom and shut the door. One child had been stung on the tongue and the other on a finger.

Hoyt was stung on the leg, knee, hand and wrist - maybe a dozen times. He could hear them following him. He swung his ball cap around and accidentally hit one of the bees into his ear. He yelled, "Get away from me!" Another bee he swatted to the ground came right back at him.

He grabbed for a fly swatter and killed some of the bees. He could see more and more diving at the windows of the house as he smashed some against the glass.

"I squashed a bunch of them" against a just-cleaned window, he said, able to laugh about the real scare hours afterward.

"I have never seen anything like that. It was just incredible to me," he said. "These little things were just unbelievably relentless."

The bee swarm also attacked Hoyt's dog in the back yard, but the dog's fur is so thick that it wasn't hurt.

Once everyone inside was safe, Hoyt looked next door and saw two men who were doing welding work getting attacked. That's when his friend called the Fire Department.

"They did everything right," Flores said. "Initially, you can try to knock a couple of them away, but the best thing people can do for themselves is to get away" because swatting can make bees more aggressive.

Firefighters put on protective bee suits and went door to door telling people to stay inside and close doors and windows, Flores said. They treated the people who had been stung.

Firefighters also found the hive box at a house next door to Hoyt's. Flores said the man who owned the box was smart to wear a full protective suit when he opened the box. Otherwise, he likely would have been stung thousands of times.

The owner voluntarily destroyed the colony using soapy water and said he would destroy the hive box, Flores said, because the hive was meant for normal bees.

The best thing to do if you see a swarm or colony of bees is to leave it alone, Flores said. Disrupting or aggravating bees could cause them to attack.

Rural/Metro gets several calls a day about bees, he said. Firefighters always will evaluate a bee situation to make sure no one is in danger, but bee experts are best at handling bee removal, he said.

Also Thursday, Tucson Unified School District pest-removal workers removed a colony of hybrid Africanized bees that had made its home at Sam Hughes Elementary School.

The bees had built a large comb in a hole in the corner of the roof at the school, 700 N. Wilson Ave.

The established colony was noticed in recent weeks, but the staff decided removal would be safer when students were on summer vacation.

The team sprayed the bees with soapy water and set traps that use a sticky material that gives off a pheromone, tricking bees into the traps to find their queen, said Dennis Ballerstein, a TUSD pesticide technician. He could hear humming and see honey dripping from drill holes in the roof.

Crews visited 30 to 40 schools this season to take care of swarms of bees and a few colonies. Swarms are not as aggressive as colonies because they don't have a nearby home to protect.

"The main thing for us is just safety, especially if there are kids around," said Rich Hoffman, a grounds supervisor, taking off his mesh-covered hat.

Carpenters will open the eaves at the school next week to remove the comb. Then they will seal cracks and holes to make sure other bees are prevented from rebuilding. (Becky Pallack, Arizona Daily Star, 5/27/05.)

BEES ATTACK TUCSON MOTHER AND HER CHILDREN

TUCSON, AZ --- A northeast side neighborhood came under attack by Africanized bees Thursday morning.

The bees were so aggressive they chased a mother and her two children inside a house.

Pima County Sheriff's Deputies alerted residents who live in the area of Avenida del Cazador and Via Avellana, near River and Swan.

They are to remain indoors for safety reasons. Aggressive bees are still out there.

The bees came from a nearby house when the owner went to harvest the honey. He says the bees exploded.

Rural Metro was called.

Battallion Chief Rick Flores says, "Very dangerous situation, this poses a significant life safety problem for people who live in the area."

Victoria Lindsey says she and her two children were attacked as they tried to get into their truck. Her 5-year-old daughter was stung.

Rochelle says, "A bee flew into the car and then flew into my mouth."

Her brother Jeremiah says, "I was trying to open the door and the bee stung me."

Her friend, John, helped them into his house and the bees followed.

Victoria says, "There was at least 20 in the house. Outside, there were a hundred. We could see them. Every window we went to, you could see the bees slamming into it."

The bees were killed one by one inside the house, but not before they stung the owner 8 times.

John Hoyt says, "I 've never seen anything so aggressive. You see this on the TV and you never think its going to happen to you...totally unexpected."

The bee hive will be destroyed. The homeowner agrees it's posing a danger to the residents here. (KVOA-TV TUCSON, 5/26/05.)

LOCAL SCHOOL GOES INTO "LOCKDOWN" AFTER BEES FOUND ON CAMPUS

LAS VEGAS, NV --- Bees in a nearby park are causing quite a buzz at Lee Antonello Elementary School in North Las Vegas. No one was hurt or stung, but Kids First's Kendall Tenney has more about how the school's emergency plan was put to the test.

It was like any other day at Lee Antonello Elementary School, except for one thing. "We didn't go outside yesterday." That's because of an abundance of bees swarming in the park next door. "Bees and kids don't mix very well. There's a lot of running and screaming when bees mix with kids."

So the school pulled out an emergency plan, the same plan used for a school lockdown. Linda Resse is the school's Principal. "In a school, things happen all the time, that's why we have all these contingencies." Schedules changed, kids stayed inside for recess, far away from the bees, and medical records were checked.

Bilna Nogra is a First Aid and Safety Assistant. "If we have all the records we know what children are allergic to, their specific kind of allergies." Teachers reminded kids like eight-year-old Morgan what to do. "We should leave it alone because if you bother it it may sting you."

It wasn't long before the nests came down and warning signs at the park went up. "We take no chances. I've had people say that's a lot of paper for revisions. Not when it comes to student supervision!"

Kids were allowed outside today for recess, but the bee warning signs may be up in Eldorado Park for a few more days. (KVBC-TV News 3 Las Vegas, 5/26/05.)

'KILLER BEES' INFESTATIONS CAN OCCUR IN SECRET

PALM DESERT, CA --- Thousands of killer bees could be nesting in your eaves and you might be caught completely by surprise.

That's what happened in the case of the 3,550 "Africanized honey bees" that were found recently in a garage at the Bighorn Institute. Jim De Forge, the institute's executive director, noticed the bees about a month ago, and before he knew it, they grew into a cluster.

"They formed a hive inside our building, and then it became serious," he said. "I didn't know if they were killer bees at first. They seemed pretty calm."

They wouldn't be calm if they had felt threatened. The bees can be either African or European honey bees, with the African or "Africanized" species being the more defensive of the two, said Kirk Visscher, associated professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside.

"These days, we consider any unmanaged colony of bees to be African bees, but that's not always true," he said. "It may be African, or it may be European. It's best to take precaution as if they were African bees. They're similar to European bees, but more aggressive and defensive. That's what makes them more dangerous."

Visscher added African bees are a little smaller than European bees, but it's otherwise harder to physically differentiate between the two bees.

The African - or "killer bee" - species was first brought to Brazil, where beekeeping wasn't thriving, and geneticists had determined African bees were more capable of being productive in tropical climates.

Bees that escaped in Brazil later made their way to California in 1994. The species arrived in the Coachella Valley in 1998.

De Forge said the thousands of bees in the Bighorn Institute's structure was reduced to about 500 as of 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. Swarms typically include 10,000 to 25,000 bees, with established colonies having greater numbers, Visscher said.

The bees at Bighorn were removed by Killer Bee Swarm Removal of Palm Desert.

Colonies congregate in cavities, and people can prevent that by filling the gaps. But once bees establish a colony, they defend it vigorously.

"If people find bees nesting on their property, it's prudent to have them removed professionally," Visscher said.

That means that homeowners should just assume that bees they find in the Coachella Valley are the "killer bee" variety - which defend their hives more quickly and aggressively and have been known to chase intruders for as far as a quarter mile.

As long as bees are swarming, it's likely there's a permanent colony nearby, Visscher said. However, the population tends to be larger during the spring when there are more flowers for the insects to feed on. (Colin Atagi, The Desert Sun, 5/26/05.)

HOT WEATHER SIGNALS SWARM SEASON FOR KILLER BEES

PALM DESERT, CA -- It’s that time of year. Killer bees are thriving here in the desert. Bee experts say the buzz about killer bees is true, that running into a swarm or getting rid of a hive can be dangerous if not deadly.

The now-caged bees we saw were mix of European and African killer bees and could kill you if they attack or swarm. The hive was found in the attic of this garage at the Big Horn Institute in Palm Desert.

Jim DeForge, the director of organization, spotted the bee hive when there were just a few bees buzzing around it.

“They looked like they were going in the building and I knew I didn't want them there.”

DeForge called in an expert to take a look at the hive. He had no idea thousands of bees were inside.

If left unattended, a killer beehive can potentially be a huge problem. We're told the queen bee can lay up to 3,000 eggs a day.

Experts say its best to take care of the swarm before they multiply into tens of thousands. But they say do so carefully.

“You can look and don't touch. The best thing to do is not to touch . . . You don't know how they'll react and more advice, don't use spray pesticides.”

“You realize you are killing 40 to 50 bees on the outside and on the inside, there are maybe 20,000 to 30,000. They will all come out and get angry.”

And that anger can lead to an attack, one that experts who have experienced it say you don't ever want to deal with.

The experts say if you run into a swarm, you should back out the way you came and you should not yell or move quickly.(KESQ-TV News 3, 5/24/05.)

SWARMING BEES DELAY DEATH'S INVESTIGATION

POWAY, CA – Swarming bees briefly chased away homicide detectives trying to investigate the death of a man found along a sidewalk on Pomerado Road yesterday, the Sheriff's Department said.

A woman had discovered the body while walking her dog about 9:40 a.m., said homicide Lt. Tom Bennett.

It was unclear whether the man, believed to be in his 40s, was a homicide victim, Bennett said. An autopsy and toxicology screening is scheduled to determine the cause of death, he said.

The bees delayed the investigation as authorities waited for a county bee expert to arrive and evaluate the situation.

Bennett was unsure what type of bees were swarming in a tree near the body, which was discovered in a landscaped strip off the sidewalk on Pomerado, just north of Poway Road.

County Medical Examiner Glenn Wagner said special tests would be required to show whether the victim died of bee stings.

Such tests are sent to an independent lab outside of the county, Wagner said, and take several weeks for the results to be returned. (Brian Hazle, San Diego Union Tribune, 5/10/05.)

SWARM OF BEES ATTACKS CARLSBAD MAN, DOG, RESCUERS

CARLSBAD, NM — A swarm of bees estimated in the tens of thousands attacked several dogs, their owner and firefighters and police who came to rescue them.

Authorities could not say whether the bees were the aggressive Africanized bees. Tests will have to be run to determine that.

Tomas Rojas, 26, said he saw the swarm attacking Thursday when he went to investigate why his dogs, chained in the yard, were barking.

"I came outside and there were bees all over them,'' Rojas said. "I tried to let them off the chain, and I had shorts on, and they were biting me all up and down my legs. I went back inside and put some pants on and covered myself with a blanket. I let a couple of them off their chains, but there was just too many bees.''

Rojas then called 911.

Fire Department shift commander Frank Orozco was stung about a dozen times while trying to help the dogs and find the hive.

"I was trying to fight all of those bees off, and there was just too many,'' he said. "The men that were in there (with him) said that my head looked like I had a wig of bees. They dogs, when we went in there, they were covered with bees.''

Firefighters located a 4- by-8 foot hive on the wall of a storage shed after about 20 minutes, and sprayed it with soapy water to kill most of the bees, said Lt. Kelly Hicks. Officials estimated there were 200,000 bees.

The dogs were taken to a veterinarian for treatment and are expected to survive, Hicks said.

Rojas was treated for stings at the scene. (AP, 5/7/05.)

RESIDENT ATTACKED BY BEES

WICKENBURG, AZ --- A recent attack of Africanized killer bees in the desert has left a local man concerned for the safety of others.

Mack Rasor, a retired Phoenix police officer and Wickenburg resident, was involved last month in a killer bee attack that left one horse dead in the area of Grand and 163rd avenues.

Rasor had taken two horses into the desert that day by trailer. He was planning on riding one and leading the other to his daughter's home. Along the way he looked up into the sky and saw what he referred to as a "huge swarm" of bees.

"It was a nice, warm, sunny day, but suddenly the sun disappeared because of a cloud of bees," Rasor said. "If there was one bee in that swarm, there was 10,000."

After noticing the swarm, Rasor tried to slowly move out of the directional path of the bees, believing he would be safe. However, the bees immediately began to land on the horses.

The horse that Rasor was riding began to shake his head, and he reared - causing the bees to start attacking the horse being led by Rasor.

"It was like a tornado had come down upon his face, and he did not react well at all," Rasor said of the trailing horse. "He started going berserk. He was banging his head all over and jumping into trees. It was very sad."

Rasor was near his daughter's home by then and rode off on his horse to get help. He grabbed a dirt bike and a fire extinguisher and went back to help the other horse.

As soon as Rasor began spraying the bees with the fire extinguisher, they turned on him and stung him about 20 times.

Rasor's daughter called a friend to get some pain medication for the horse, but the horse died before help could be rendered.

Rasor has since learned that there have been nearly 30 confirmed killer bee attacks in the Mesa and Apache Junction areas. Rasor was also told that killer bees recently attacked a horse in the Wickenburg area. He said that horse survived.

"The bees appear to be attracted to dark clothing and darker skinned people or animals," Rasor said. "I was told that white clothing deters the bees, and that anyone going into the desert should bring gloves and a white T-shirt in case they need to cover their hands and face."

For more information on killer bees, go to http://www.maricopa.gov/ emerg_mgt/pdf/killerb.pdf?q=killer%20bees on the Web. The link can also be found by logging onto www.maricopa.gov and typing the words "killer bees" into the search box.

The Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management can be reached at 602-273-1411. (Janet DelTufo, The Winkenburg Sun, 4/27/05.)

BEES GO ON THE ATTACK IN ELECTRA

ELECTRA, TX --- The "buzz" around Electra today is about a group of aggressive bees that attacked several people late Wednesday. Today, many fear the bees could be what some call "Africanized Killer Bees." Those we spoke to say if they aren`t the Africanized variety, they`re definitely not your average honey bees. Local bee keepers say this is the most aggressive case they have seen so far this year.

It wasn`t a movie. It happened in Electra yesterday afternoon. A local beekeeper says a hive of about 60,000 or 70,000 bees became stirred while a man was mowing the lawn at a house. Eye witnesses say the angry bees attacked anyone who came within 400 or 500 feet of them.

One man is still feeling the sting. He says he was walking down the street, in front of the house, when the bees came out of nowhere and attacked him. He says he was stung about 200 times.

Bee victim Jackie Adwell says, "I didn`t know what to do because they were hitting me in the face and around my eyes and ears. I tried to get them out of my ears, and by that time, I was just scapping them off like this, trying to get them out of my head."

Local bee keeper Bennie Watson was called to the scene. He says when he arrived, the bees began attacking him, even though he had on his protective gear. Watson says regualr honey bees are not nearly this aggressive, which is why he believes this could be Africanized Killer Bees. Bennie Watson says, "Africanized bees, they won`t hesitate, they just attack. They won`t try to get you away. They just attack and try to drive you away."

Watson says these bees can be very dangerous, which is why he says it`s a miracle Adwell is still alive, after 200 stings. "That type of poison could have killed him very easily. Even with just a few stings." says Watson.

This is the first time something like this has happened in Electra, and Watson says it is a sign that aggressive bees are moving into Wichita County. Watson says that these bees are unusually attracted to the color black.

As for Adwell, he says he will definitely be on the look out for bees in the future, and he is just happy he`s still alive. Watson says if you spot a hive of bees, stay away from them. He says you should call the police or a beekeeper immediately. (KFDX-TX 3 News Center Wichita Falls, 4/21/05.)

BEE-HOLD THE KILLER BEES OF BISBEE

BISBEE, AZ -- Their rambunctious reputation has this country all a-buzz. Swarms of Africanized bees known for stinging rampages that occasionally cause death to anyone under attack.

Now rampant throughout the Americas, most of us unfamiliar with these infuriating insects are told to bee-ware of areas with hives. But one man in Arizona is bee-holden to the killer bees for his sweet-tasting business in Bisbee.

Reed Booth, a killer beekeeper and killer bee removal expert for the past 12 years, produces a variety of gourmet honey butters and honey mustards that are as famous as the killer bees themselves.

If you think Booth's occupation a bit bee-wildering and Booth himself insane for interacting with such bad-tempered bees, he'll agree. But he can't help himself. He finds killer bees bee-guiling.

"I just love them," Booth said. "Though sometimes they're a pain in the butt or wherever they happen to get me."

South and Central American countries have embraced them as well, especially Brazil that was once an insignificant producer of honey and is now fourth worldwide due to Africanized bees. How that happened is a story of introducing stinging honeybees from Europe to stingless honeybees in the Western Hemisphere, then adding African queen bees.

In the bee-ginning, native peoples in Central and South America kept stingless honeybees, but the bees didn't make much honey. When early European immigrants brought stinging honeybees on ships, there was a little more honey to be had. But in 1956, at the request of the Brazilian government, Dr. Warwick Kerr went to Africa for 63 queen bees to interbreed with European honeybees that were prone to jungle diseases.

Since African bees produce twice as much honey as stinging honeybees, are hardier and disease-resistant, it was thought that mixing the two bee species together would create a calmer, major honey-making hybrid. The Africanized bees turned out to be prolific pollinators, but with highly aggressive attitudes. When a few hybrids buzzed off from Brazil, it took 34 years before the first killer bees reached American flowers in Texas in 1990. They have now been spotted as far north as Seattle.

As for Arizona, all bees are Africanized. "It's a done deal," said Booth "Talk about job security."

Booth got into the killer bee business by way of Mead, a honey wine he makes commercially. Thinking it would be "romantic to have my own bees to get my own honey to make my own Mead," he obtained his first two honeybee hives in 1985 from an old beekeeper.

"The first few years were sweet as could be until the killers moved in," Booth said. "But they've made my life more interesting."

Booth averages 40 hives on secluded property near the Mexico border, but can have up to 100 during spring. With 40,000 to 60,000 bees per hive, each produces a couple hundred pounds of honey. The term "busy bee" applies to the worker bees as they literally work themselves to death, only living about six weeks.

"Killer bees have higher metabolisms and faster wing beats (50 times more per second than honeybees) that help them produce more honey than they need," Booth said. "They also work weekends and holidays, which European honeybees never do."

Humor seems bee-fitting for Booth who always deals with angry "employees." His only defense is a bee suit complete with netted hat and duct tape.

"I tape up everything from my pant legs to the zipper to the tops of my gloves," he said. "And underneath I sometimes wear a ski mask, two sweatshirts, heavy pants and thick socks. Heaven forbid if a bee gets inside my suit."

Amazingly, Africanized bees aren't dangerous when they're collecting flower nectar, but close to a hive can cause havoc en masse. The secret is not to get stung. The reason being is the first sting sends out a pheromone smell alerting the rest of the hive. Within a few seconds, thousands of killer bees will then terrorize anyone or anything found in their path.

With bees hitting like hailstones and the musty odor of their venom in the air, it's no wonder people panic. Though Booth was once stung more than 30 times while removing a hive underneath a mobile home, he knows two techniques to arrest attacks. The worse case scenario, hosing bees down with soapy water will suffocate them. However, Booth prefers smoking out the bees.

When bees smell smoke they gorge themselves on honey to the point where they're too stuffed to sting. Then the queen bee can be captured, ensuring her colony will come along peacefully.

To killer bees, home is where the queen is, not where the hive is. Booth can then put the hive into his van, take off his bee suit and drive to his commercial kitchen without bees bothering him.

"It's always fun to watch peoples' reactions when they see me inside my van with bees buzzing around," Booth said. "And I never get stopped by the police anymore."

At the kitchen, extracting honey from the hives involves removing frames containing tiny cells filled with the sweet stuff.

To harvest his honey, Booth uses an electrically heated knife to cut or melt the waxy caps off the cells, then places the frames in a stainless-steel centrifuge to spin the honey out. Flavored honey butters like Sassy Cinnamon and Rum Truffle, Radical Raspberry and Outstanding Orange plus honey mustards with a bite are concocted personally by Booth. Recently, his horseradish honey mustard received a gold medal at the Napa Valley World Mustard Competition.

Since honey is considered the "perfect food" — it's loaded with all the essentials vitamins and minerals, proteins and carbohydrates — and Africanized killer bees make so much of it, these hot-headed honey producers can't be all bad.

According to Booth, we must learn to live with them by understanding their bee-havior and bee-proofing homes. In his book "Confessions Of The Killer Bee Guy," Booth educates in an entertaining way what killer bees are and how to keep from being bee-sieged by them.

Booth should know. He's taken unwelcome winged warriors and turned them into a consuming commodity. This has earned him Arizona's Small Business Of The Year Award for 2004.

So if you're ever in Bisbee, make a beeline to Reed Booth's Killer Bee Shop to sample tasty honey butters and mustards. And when you leave, he'll tell you to "bee-hive yourself and buzz right back, honey". (Sue Hansen, Corvallis Gazette-Times, 4/17/05.)

ACHS CALLS IN EXTERMINATOR FOR BEE SWARM

School initially feared breed was Africanized

ABILENE, TX --- Worries about Africanized bees have caused some in the city to watch the skies.

But a Texas A&M University spokesman said the bees, while aggressive, aren't the massive destructive force people envision from movies.

''A fear of the unknown always leads to great imaginings,'' said Dave Mayes, assistant head of agricultural communication. ''People seem to think they weigh 500 pounds and fly over in a bomber formation.''

Still, a bit more than a week after the April 6 death of 83-year-old Johnsie Mae Allen of Baird, possibly caused by Africanized honeybees, people in the area are nervous.

About 50 of the bees suspected in Allen's death have been sent to Texas A&M for analysis, said Callahan County Sheriff's Department Deputy Tom Rumfield. The bees were collected the day after the incident.

Worries about Africanized bees in Abilene prompted educators to check out a small swarm alighting in trees near Abilene Christian Schools on Thursday.

''We had a clump of bees that landed in one of our trees,'' said Edsel Hughes, elementary school principal. ''We called the exterminator, and he said that they're African bees.''

However, a call to Bugs R Us, the extermination company, revealed the insects probably weren't Africanized. The exterminator reported they weren't as aggressive as they should have been.

No children were stung, and the exterminator told Hughes the bees were resting and would probably have been gone by morning.

According to a report by KTXS-TV reporter Lacie Lowry, area beekeepers say they have received twice as many calls in the past five years because more and more Africanized bees have been reported in the area.

Mayes said the bees are indistinguishable in size, color and shape from non-Africanized bees. Scientists rely on laboratory analysis that involves complex computerized measurements of the bees' wings and forelegs.

But it is not surprising that a group of bees - Africanized or not - settled outside the elementary school at this time of year, Mayes said.

''This is the time of year when bees are moving around,'' he said. ''It's not unusual to find a small swarm sitting on a branch on their way to setting up shop in a new location.''

Queen bees are breeding at this time and taking parts of hives to go off and establish new ones, Mayes said.

That said, people in two-thirds of Texas have been coexisting with the bees for 15 years, Mayes said.

''The first Africanized bees that we know of came across the Rio Grande river from Mexico around 1990,'' he said. ''They've spread gradually through the state.''

While it is possible to die from the stings of Africanized honeybees, such an occurrence is rare, Mayes said

''Most often, the death is because of allergic shock,'' he said. ''... It is possible to also be stung to death if you can't get away from them.''

According to the Texas A&M Web site, there have only been four deaths from Africanized honeybees in Texas in 11 years. (Brian Bethel, Abilene Reporter-News, 4/16/05.)

BEWARE: KILLER BEES ARE BACK IN TOWN

ALBUQUERQUE, NM -- The killer bees are back.

And this time, it could be with a vengeance.

Africanized killer bees migrated west from Louisiana several years ago and have been spotted since then especially across southern New Mexico.

But in the past five years, there has been an increase in Africanized killer bees in central New Mexico.

Experts say the bees are making their way around the state and have already been spotted in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.

They say you will know if they are killer bees because they will attack without provocation.

“It'll feel like you're in a hailstorm,” says Ed Costanza, a local bee catcher. “They'll start dive bombing you and bounce of your hat or clothes. You can tell they're aggressive and you'll make a quick retreat,” he says.

Experts say this is a typical time for bees to swarm in New Mexico. It's spring time and because of the wet start to the year, the bees are more active.

New Mexico has had a tremendous amount of moisture and with the flowers blooming has allowed the bees to build up considerably.

That leads to overcrowding in the bees' original nest and causes the other bees to swarm to find a new nest.

Most bees will not bother you -- unless they are Africanized -- then they could attack without being provoked.

If you see a swarm of bees in your yard, just leave them alone and call the county extension office. (Jason Gil Bear, KRQE-TV News 13, 4/13/2005.)

BEES KEEP WORKERS BUZZING

Flying insects abound as weather gets warm

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA -- Most people are afraid of them. Many are allergic to them. Almost all outside the scientific or extermination professions are simply ignorant about them.

Other than acknowledging that the insects are reproductive go-betweens for various flowers and plants, or that they deliver a painful sting when angered, most people avoid them entirely.

Bees begin to swarm as the weather heats up, said Leon Luna, a vector control technician with the West Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District. And with temperatures in the Inland Valley reaching the mid-80s in recent weeks, business is picking up for Luna and vector control assistant Albert Pedregon.

One day last month, Leon and Pedregon answered three calls about bees in two cities within four hours.

One call took them to a senior citizens' center near Lemon and B streets (no joke) in Ontario just before 11 a.m.

"Bees in a tree," Luna said, referring to the call received at vector control headquarters. "That's the only description," he said as he scanned a parking lot full of trees.

Shortly after he arrived to help Luna, Pedregon spotted the culprits, thousands upon thousands of bees hanging in a ball-shaped hive off a branch.

To the uninitiated and uninformed, the sight of 40,000 bees clinging to each other on a branch could be terrifying.

But it's not unusual, Luna said.

"This is just natural bee behavior," he explained. "Usually swarms are pretty docile. They follow the queen. Bees are not aggressive; they're defensive. They don't go looking for trouble; they just react to threats."

Last month, a Rancho Cucamonga family found out just how defensive bees can get when protecting a hive, as a large group of bees killed a family pet and stung several household members before firefighters helped the family escape an upstairs bathroom.

Firefighters answered a call March 10 about the beehive at a home in the 11000 block of Countryview Drive. They arrived to find thousands of bees outside the residence.

Don Osborn was alerted to the bees after hearing an anguished cry from the family dog, Roxxy, a 2 1/2-year-old dachshund-terrier mix. He discovered her covered in the insects after he looked out into the back yard.

Osborn initially tried to remove the bees by spraying them with a hose. When that failed, he donned long pants and long sleeves before dragging the small dog inside. The rescue was too late: Roxxy died a short time later.

Osborn suffered more than a dozen stings during the incident. A private extermination company was called to eradicate the hive shortly after vector control inspected the property, said Rancho Cucamonga Fire Battalion Chief Mike Costello.

Pedregon, recalling the event, disputed the theory that Africanized bees -- the so-called "killer bees" -- were responsible for the Rancho incident.

Any bee, be it a European honey bee or the Africanized bee, will attack if it is protecting a hive, he said.

Dogs like to snap at bees and catch them in their mouths, he explained. Roxxy may have killed one of the bees, releasing a pheromone signal that led other members of the hive to attack.

Back at the senior center, the large ball of bees decided to relocate to a sign at a tire store across the street shortly after being spotted. The air darkened with the insects as most of them took flight and landed a few hundred feet away, on the store's metal sign.

Luna advised an employee behind the counter to call a private extermination company if the bees hadn't moved on by the next day.

Bees swarm in spring and summer to find a suitable place to build a hive, he said. They aren't dangerous as they swarm because they have nothing to protect. But once they begin to build their hive, people and pets could be in danger if the bees perceive them as a threat, he said.

The next call took Luna and Pedregon to a quiet Chino Hills neighborhood. In the 15000 block of Live Oak Road, Luna spotted approximately 10,000 to 15,000 bees hanging in a tree next to a home.

An observer asked Pedregon if the bees would be tested to determine if they were the Africanized variety. They were not, Pedregon assured him.

Luna decided to use a vacuum to corral them. Their fate is sealed after that, he said.

"We vacuum them up in a container," Luna said. "We take them back to the office and make them go night-night."

"Night-night" means soaking the insects with a thick, slimy soap, which eventually suffocates them.

Neither he nor Pedregon enjoys killing bees. They are beneficial insects, Luna said. But with the migration of the more aggressive Africanized bees, the rules have changed.

"We used to be able to let bees go," Luna said. "But with the Africanized (bees) migrating over and mixing (with European honey bees), the Ag department frowns on that," he said, referring to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Humans and bees can co-exist, he said. People become frightened after they spot a swarm, but the swarms generally are not harmful unless they become agitated. In fact, bees usually move on within several hours of being spotted in trees or near structures, he said.

Luna advised people to not disturb large masses of bees by throwing things at them or otherwise agitating them. However, hives usually need to be eradicated if they are found on someone's property.

Pedregon criticized Luna's choice of the vacuum for the Live Oak call because the bees had settled high in one of the branches.

He smirked as Luna struggled to free the vacuum hose after it became stuck on the leaves.

"Something like that, I would spray them," he said, between drags on his cigarette. "I wouldn't vacuum them. It's too much work." (Jannise Johnson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 4/12/05.)

BEE STINGS KILL RETIRED TEACHER

PUTNAM, TX --- A retired Callahan County teacher died Wednesday as a result of bee stings, said Callahan County Sheriff Deputy Tom Rumfield.

Johnsie Mae Allen, 83, of Baird, was found by a passerby about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at property that her family owned on Finley Road, about one mile west of Putnam, Rumfield said. Allen was flown to Hendrick Medical Center.

It was unclear why the bees attacked Allen, Rumfield said. Allen was stung about 300 times.

Samples will be sent to Texas A&M University to be tested to see if the bees that stung Allen are Africanized bees, Rumfield said.

According to a Texas A&M Web site on bees, the Africanized bee is a ''wild'' bee that is more likely to sense a threat at greater distances, become more upset with less reason and sting in much greater numbers.

Allen's children were surprised and saddened by the news.

''She was our rock, and we're kind of floundering right now,'' said her daughter Kim Kenny.

Another daughter, Heather Guthrie, said the family wants people to be aware of the dangers bees pose.

''We really want people to be warned because it's something that's fallen from our consciousness,'' she said.

Funeral services begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Baird. Pastor Larry Gaumond will officiate. Parker Funeral Home will direct the services.

Allen began teaching after receiving her bachelor's degree from Abilene Christian College (now Abilene Christian University) in 1941. She received a master's degree from Sul Ross State University in 1951.

During her 37-year teaching career, Allen taught many grade levels and gave her time to many University Interscholastic League events, including One-Act Play competition, spelling, science and debate.

All of Allen's children, including her son Mark Allen, studied with her for One-Act Play competition.

''She was the best teacher I ever had,'' he said.

Allen was still active judging play competitions and writing competitions. Former students sometimes stopped her, Guthrie said.

''We couldn't go anywhere without someone wanting to come over and talk with 'Mrs. Allen,''' Guthrie said.

In lieu of flowers, donors may make contributions to the charity of their choice. (Raquel C. Garza, Abilene Reporter-News, 4/8/05.)

BEES CLOSE ER AT ST. MARY'S FOR TWO HOURS

TUCSON, AZ -- St. Mary's Hospital was forced to shut down its emergency room for about two hours Thursday evening because of bees that were found near the entryway, a fire official said.

The bees, which were near the entrance of the old emergency room and in a nearby prickly pear cactus, were not swarming and were not much of a threat, said Capt. Paul McDonough, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman. No one was stung or injured, he said.

Firefighters blocked off the area and a bee removal company was called in.

During that time, people headed to St. Mary's ER had to be diverted to other hospitals, he said. "It was more of a precautionary step, but they did not want any patients to come in and get stung," he said. (Arizona Daily Star, 4/6/05.)

SWARM OF BEES ATTACKS

FREEPORT, TX - Bees attacked a 64-year-old Freeport man while he did yard work, sending him to the Brazosport Memorial Hospital intensive care unit Sunday evening.

John Thibodeaux remained at the Lake Jackson hospital Monday, said his wife Daisy. His condition had stabilized, and he was taken out of intensive care, she said.

Thibodeaux was mowing the front yard of a vacant home in the 1800 block of West 11th Street about 7:30 p.m. Sunday when bees suddenly swarmed him and also stung some neighbors, Daisy Thibodeaux said. They might have come from an oak tree in the front yard, she said.

Her husband was mowing the neighboring lawn because of high grass, she said.

With bees covering his body, her husband ran across the street and inside his own home, but the small, dark colored bees still were swarming him, she said.

They also stung Daisy four or five times.

"I kept pulling and trying to throw them and pull them out of my hair," she said.

Daisy Thibodeaux called 911 for her husband, who suffers from heart trouble and diabetes. After paramedics checked his blood pressure and breathing, they left, but they returned after John Thibodeaux broke out in red splotches all over his body, Daisy Thibodeaux said. He was taken to Brazosport Memorial Hospital.

City Manager Ron Bottoms said the insects were honey bees and even stung an EMS volunteer.

Jan Prejean, a registered nurse for the Brazoria County Health Department, said bee stings can be serious, especially for people who suffer from other health problems. The county health department does not keep track of the number of people stung by bees, she said.

The homeowner will be responsible for removing the bees, although the city does not set a time limit for compliance, Bottoms said.

Code enforcement officer Carmen Calvillo said she planned to send a certified letter Monday to the homeowner. While she's unsure if the home has changed hands, she's cited the house in the past for tall grass, a broken garage door and a broken mailbox, she said.

Daisy Thibodeaux hoped the bees would be removed one way or another before anyone else is hurt.

"You know how kids play in the yard," she said. "You know, they'll go over there and disturb them." (Bridie Isensee , The Brazosport Facts, 4/5/05.)

SWARM OF BEES STOP BASEBALL GAME AGAIN

TUCSON, AZ - For the second time in a week, a spring game in Arizona was halted by a swarm of bees. It was only a brief stoppage yesterday when the bees invaded the Angels' dugout. But on Thursday in Tucson, the Arizona Diamondbacks-Colorado Rockies game was called after five innings because of a persistent swarm. (AP, 3/29/05.)

BEES MAKE 2ND THREAT IN 1 WEEK

EL PASO, TEXAS -- For the second time in a week, El Paso emergency crews have been called out to contain an angry swarm of bees that threatened to sweep across a local neighborhood.

Sunday's episode occurred along the 10,000 block of Candlewood, in East El Paso.

A deadly bee sting is considered quite rare, but the possibility of it has put many El Pasoans on edge. "I can't get bitten by bees right now -- my immune system is very low," said Morris Fiedler. "This scares me very much," he added.

A resident discovered nearly 100 bees hovering over a bush and then alerted fire department officials.

On Thursday, a family pet was killed when an estimated 1,000 bees attacked the animal after getting away from bee owner Armando Velez, who owns a bee hive at his home near Begonia and Apodaca in the Lower Valley

The swarm was later rounded-up by Animal Control, but for a number of people living nearby a similar situation can really create a panic. (KVIA-TV 7 El Paso, 3/28/05.)

ALLERGIC MAN'S DEATH BLAMED ON NEGLIGENCE

VISTA, CA – A Vista family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against a local property owner and the city, saying they failed to control a beekeeping operation before a relative was fatally stung last May.

The complaint was brought by Lisa Towner, the daughter of construction worker James Towner, who died of an allergic reaction to a bee sting near a family member's home.

The suit involves an apiary that once was on vacant property across the street from the Towner residence, which is on Guajome Lake Road near North Santa Fe Avenue.

The 40-acre property is owned by the family of Vista Planning Commissioner Kirk Richardson. The Richardsons are selling the property for $5 million to North Coast Church for a proposed 365,000-square-foot church and school.

The suit, filed March 16, says the Richardson family was negligent for allowing a large apiary there while the deal was in the making.

It says the family "owed a duty to plaintiffs as landowners to keep their property safe from hazards."

The city also was negligent, the suit says, because the Towners had notified officials in the past that the bees were a nuisance and a threat, and officials "ignored those notices."

Vista's city codes governing bees say that no apiaries may exist without the property owner's consent, and that they must be at least 600 feet from the nearest home and far enough from a public road so as not to be a nuisance or hazard.

The apiary owner also must prominently display a sign with contact information at the apiary's entrance.

Although "no trespassing" signs were still posted at the vacant property yesterday, it was unclear whether apiary signs were ever posted because the bee operation moved shortly after James Towner's death, neighbors said.

City Attorney Wayne Dernetz said Vista code inspectors made several trips to the property when the apiary was there and found no violations.

Beekeepers don't need a city permit.

"It's a very unfortunate event," Dernetz said. "But as far as our review is concerned, we do not believe the city has liability in this case."

Richardson did not return several phone calls seeking comment yesterday.

City Manager Rita Geldert said she recalled the bee-sting incident but would withhold further comment until the city is served with the lawsuit next week.

James Towner was living in a trailer behind the home of his sister, Kathy Towner, while trying to build a home five minutes away near Taylor Street and North Santa Fe Drive, a family member said.

Matthew Adams, 17, described his uncle as an amiable, easygoing man who specialized in construction of concrete porches and patios and who surfed with his buddies near Oceanside's pier every Saturday at dawn.

James Towner was acutely allergic to bee stings.

Another family member at the home shared this allergy, Adams said, so the Towners began asking the Richardsons and then the city to do something about four columns of 50 to 60 beehives on the vacant property nearby. Bees even began moving into the tree line around the Towner home, he said.

James Towner was in the home's back yard May 24, talking with a family member, when he was stung once by a bee. He died before reaching the hospital, Adams said.

The bees' presence was well known, neighbors said.

"Sometimes you tried to get rid of them, but they came back," said Jose David Martinez, a Vista truck driver who uses a site next to the vacant property to store tractor-trailers and diesel rigs.

Neighbor Amanda Nelson, 29, said people near the site were wary of the bees.

"I only got stung once, but so did a lot of other people," she said.

Her uncle, Mike Craft, said he remembered the bees buzzing around looking for water.

"If you were standing out by the pool, it looked like a flight pattern," he said. (Adam Klawonn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3/26/05.)

SWARM OF BEES INVADE ROCKIES-DIAMONDBACKS GAME

Tucson, AZ - Darren Oliver has been chased from the mound plenty of times before – just never by a swarm of bees.

Yes, bees.

The left-hander went running from his start in the sixth inning Thursday when a swarm of bees descended on Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Ariz., cutting short Colorado's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies won 3-1.

"I guess we've got to call that a 'Bee' game," Arizona manager Bob Melvin quipped.

The bees literally chased Oliver from the mound. He kept trying to go back, but the bees would go after him again. Finally, after a 20-minute delay, he left for good and let Colorado reliever Allan Simpson complete the inning.

Oliver said the bees apparently were attracted to the coconut oil in his hair gel.

"I guess I must have smelled good. It was kind of funny at first, but after a while I started getting a little nervous and scared out there," he said.

The Diamondbacks took the field in the sixth, but by then the bees had spread over the entire field. Shortstop Sergio Santos, who had just entered the game, was chased all the way into deep center field.

"There were like little packs moving around," said Arizona's Luis Gonzalez, who hit his first homer of the spring in the first inning and was on third after a triple when play stopped. "They were all over the pitcher, and Santos when he went out. I think it was either their cologne or deodorant or something. They've got to switch it up."

There was a brief bee delay at the same ballpark two years ago.

But Joe Garagiola Sr., attending the game with his son, Diamondbacks general manager Joe Garagiola Jr., said he had never seen anything like Thursday's invasion.

"And I go back to 1942," the elder Garagiola said. (AP, 3/24/05.)

VALLEY SEES HIGHER BEE POPULATION THAN NORMAL

Phoenix, AZ - You may have noticed it already, but there are a lot more bees than usual for this time of year.

That's because all the rain the Valley has received means healthy vegetation and an unlimited food supply for bees.

Bee Keepers say they're seeing triple the usual number of cases this year in many parts of the Valley.

The hot zones are Mesa, Surprise and Maricopa.

In the next few weeks Bee Keepers expect a high number of calls in North Scottsdale, Carefree and Cave Creek. (KPHO-TV 5 CBS News, 3/24/05.)

VALLEY ABUZZ WITH BEES

Phoenix, AZ - Exterminators are pretty busy this spring answering hundreds of bee calls.
Fueled by rainy weather, some parts of the Phoenix area are all abuzz.

Bees have been able to take advantage of perfect conditions right now to swarm and form new colonies.

Mesa is seeing double and even triple the usual number of bee calls.
However, in areas where farmland has been transformed into neighborhoods, there's barely been a blip registered.

The Phoenix Fire Department has handled 102 bee-related calls. That's more than triple the number compared with last year, when they had 31.

Bee removal companies and exterminators are adding trucks and employees to handle double the number of calls this year.

They're finding bees lodged in chimneys or holed up at apartment complexes. (KOLD-TV 13 News, Tucson, AZ, 3/22/05.)

ILLEGAL BORDER-CROSSERS ATTACKED BY BEES

Tucson, AZ -- A dozen illegal immigrants were attacked in the desert, north of Tucson, by suspected Africanized bees. One of the victims is a 4-year old boy.

He and several others were stung repeatedly but none suffered serious injuries.

According to officials with the Northwest Fire Department, the group had been walking in the desert for days, without food and water, when they ran across an abandoned farm house near I-10 and Tangerine Road.

When they went inside they were met by hundreds of aggressive bees, believed to be Africanized.

Captain John Estes, with the Northwest Fire Department, told Eyewitness News 4, "Illegal immigrants in the desert, dehydrated, tired and injured is fairly common. What makes this different is that these people tried to enter an abandoned house that was full of bees and they were stung."

Captain Estes wants to work with the city of Marana to clear the bees out of the abandoned home. He's worried that local children will wander in and get stung.

One law enforcement officer told Eyewitness News 4, the 4-year-old immigrant was stung more than ten times. He was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

All twelve undocumented aliens will be turned over to the Border Patrol. (Kristi Tedesco, KVOA-TV 4 Tucson, 3/16/05.)

BEES TERRORIZE RANCHO FAMILY

"Family forced indoors to wait for rescuers"

Rancho Cucamonga, CA - A swarm of bees on Thursday killed a family pet and stung several members of the household, who had to be rescued by firefighters from an upstairs bathroom.

Firefighters answered a call at 2:54 p.m. about a beehive at a home in the 11000 block of Countryview Drive. They arrived to find thousands of the angry insects outside the residence.

With homeowner Don Osborn and his family secured upstairs - about 20 of the bees had actually entered the home but remained downstairs - firefighters worked to pacify the swarm by dousing the bees with foam, said Rancho Cucamonga Fire Battalion Chief Mike Costello.

San Bernardino County vector control officials then inspected the home and soon after contacted a private extermination company to clear the swarm from the property.

"We've had a few aggressive bee attacks throughout the years, but this is definitely the most significant," Costello said.

Rescue efforts, however, did not come soon enough to save Roxxy, a 2 1/2-year-old dachshund-terrier mix. Osborn said it was Roxxy who first alerted family members to the swarm.

"I was sitting in the house and the dog started crying," he said. "I saw she was covered in bees."

Osborn initially tried to remove the bees with a hose. But that tactic failed. He returned wearing pants and long sleeves and dragged the small dog inside. By this time, the dog had gone into convulsions, it died a short time later.

Meanwhile, a pocket of bees entered the home through a door that was briefly opened, and in an effort to calm his family, Osborn took his wife, son and daughter, a niece and the family cat into an upstairs bathroom to await firefighters' arrival.

"A little child would have had no chance," Osborn said of the swarm. "I'm sad about my dog, but I'm glad it wasn't my daughter."

Osborn himself suffered more than a dozen stings in the attack; other family members were also stung, though none required treatment.

Once the exterminator arrived close to 5 p.m., firefighters advised residents on both Countryview and Weybridge drives to remain indoors, Costello said, adding he expected the all-clear to come about an hour later.

The insects tend to swarm during the spring and summer months, Costello said, though it is unusual for bees - even the more aggressive Africanized Honey Bees, or Killer Bees - to attack unless they are defending a hive.

He was unsure, however, what species of bee was responsible for Thursday's attack.

City fire officials typically respond to 30 to 40 bee-related calls a year, Costello said. (Jannise Johnson, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, 3/11/05.)

BEES EXPECTED TO BE MENACE THIS YEAR

Mesa, AZ -- The East Valley is learning the circle of life sometimes has a sting to it, as an army of Africanized bees fans out to feed on this year’s bumper crop of flowering plants.
Mesa appears to be the center of the East Valley infestation — one of the first after after a decade of drought put a damper on wild bees infiltrated by "killer" bees in the early 1990s.

The Mesa Fire Department has gone to 36 bee calls so far this month — eight on Tuesday alone. In 2004, there were 20 for all of March, said deputy fire chief Mary Cameli.

Swarms, so far this year, have not attacked people or pets, she said.

"We’ve had calls about swarms near schools and playgrounds where kids are, but nothing that drastic yet," she said.

Beekeepers and exterminators say they’re getting calls from all over the Valley, with no one area proving to be especially sticky. Aside from Mesa, no other fire department appears to have a big spike in calls.

In Gilbert, the fire department has been called out for bees six times this past week. Rural/Metro Fire Department has had very little bee-related activity in Scottsdale or the rest of the territory it serves in unincorporated Maricopa and Pinal counties. The Chandler Fire Department has had only four bee calls all year.

Chandler fire battalion chief Dan Couch believes that farmland swallowed up by development has taken away the alfalfa, citrus and other crops bees used to feed on.

"In Chandler, we’ve pretty much built out from end to end," he said.

Given the lush vegetation left behind by near-record rainfall, the bees have been, well, busy.

Bob Chapman of Mesabased Valley Bee Control noted that they’re remarkably self-sufficient, building their own shelter and hauling in their own food and water after a long day of pollinating desert flora and annoying desert fauna.

"If it weren’t for the problems they cause and the mess they make, they’d make great pets," Chapman said.

Chapman said his company had 54 calls last week alone from across the Valley, and while most of his customer base is in the East Valley, customers have called from as far away as Wickenburg.

He said only about one call in 50 involves what he considers "extremely aggressive" swarms, and they generally only get that way if they feel their hive is being threatened.

Bees tend to gravitate toward trees, either to "rest" between destinations or set up a hive. But they’re also opportunistic buggers that can infiltrate the walls of homes or other buildings through holes as small as an eighth of an inch, Chapman said. A swarm of 5,000 bees can file into a quarter-inch opening in under 10 minutes, he said.

The easiest way for a homeowner to tell whether a few bees hanging around the house is a bigger problem is to see what happens as the sun goes down.

If a bee flies in a hole somewhere and doesn’t come back out, it’s probably rejoined its colony for the evening.

"Bees have a good union — they don’t work nights," he said.

Paul Younger, owner of the Patagonia Honey Co. in Queen Creek, said he’s gotten a number of calls from the town government and residents to see if he can "adopt" a beehive they’ve found.

"Typically, though, I try to tell them how to kill them," he said, "because nobody really wants these bees." (By Blake Herzog, East Valley-Scottsdale Tribune, 3/10/05.)

YUMA A-B-U-Z-Z-Z-Z WITH BEES

Yuma, AZ -- Colorful wildflowers and fragrant blossoming citrus trees aren't the only signs of spring.

So, too, are the bee swarms in search of a new home.

And while bees typically swarm in the Yuma area from February through March, exterminators and bee removal services say swarms will be more numerous this spring because of greater than normal rainfall this winter and the resulting profusion of wildflowers.

Many say they're already getting more calls than typical for this time of year.

"We certainly seen to be pretty busy," said Mark Williamson, owner of Desert Web Exterminating. "With more flowers, there's more food and the ability to swarm more often.

"It's going to be a bad year for all bugs," he added.

"We're definitely busier than last year,” added Kim Johnson, whose husband, Joe, has Johnson Swarm Removal.

Johnson said the swarming bees are settling in all sorts of places besides trees and bushes. One hive set up housekeeping under the slideout of a fifth wheel, while a couple of others were under cargo trailers.
Other places might be under floor joists and in brick walls.

"They attach themselves anywhere they want to," she said.

The swarms occur this time of year, as hives produce a new queen and the old queen, if she's healthy enough, leaves with part of the bee population to establish a new hive, said former beekeeper Mark Curtis. In other cases, the bees simply have run out of room.

While they may seem alarming, swarms usually aren't dangerous, several people with experience with bees said.

When the bees leave home, they often land somewhere and send out scouts for a suitable new location.

"They're just there for a short time," Curtis said. "They really don't need to be taken away unless they're where they shouldn't be."

Such places might be in a house or other places where they endanger people and pets.

"Generally, they don't sting while they're swarming unless they're threatened," said Williamson. "Then they will create a hormone that alerts other bees."

With the arrival a few years ago of the Africanized bee, which has mixed with other wild bees, it's even more important for people to leave bees alone, warned Larry Reyelts, general manager for Yuma Pest and Termite Services.

He explained that all bees will become agitated if threatened, but Africanized bees are more aggressive and will attack in greater numbers.

"If they're on the move, we usually tell people to leave them alone," said Steve Legros, spokesman for the city of Yuma Fire Department. If they remain for a while, however, he said the fire department will recommend callers contact an exterminator.

"If we determine there is an endangerment, we will apply foam to kill them," he said. "But that's a last resort. When we use the foam, we make them mad. Then we have a mad swarm."

It's bad news when the bees decide to enter a home.

Kim Johnson recommended that homeowners check over their property and seal off any potential entrances bees might find into the house.

Williamson echoes that advice, adding: "If bees clump in the yard, I would eliminate them before they get into the house. If they get in, you need to get them eradicated right away. Once they make honey, other bees will be attracted."

That's true even if the original bees are eradicated, he said. And the only way to get rid of the honey and wax is to take out the wall.

As for the question of whether to have the bees killed or trapped and removed, there are differing opinions. Either way, homeowners are reminded, it is a business and they will be charged for the service.

Johnson said her husband will try to box the bees and release them in a friend's citrus grove.

Reyelts said his company kills the bees. Since the arrival of the Africanized bee, beekeepers don't want to take the chance of introducing them into their hives from the feral swarms, he explained. There's also the chance of spreading bee mites from the wild bees, he said.

It also is time consuming to box and remove the bees, time the homeowner may not be willing to pay for.

A few beekeepers will go out and remove the bees. For a list, call the Yuma County Cooperative Extension at 726-3904. (Joyce Lobeck, Yuma Sun, 3/9/05.)

GET READY FOR BESS, BEETLES, AND BUGS

LAS VEGAS, NV -- Expect it to be the worst year yet for killer bees in southern Nevada. All the rain has produced an early flower bloom giving bees more food to reproduce. Eyewitness News Reporter Cindy Cesare spent the day with a Las Vegas bee master and tells you how to protect yourself.

In just an hour with Las Vegas' Bee Master, Eyewitness News found thousands of bees taking up temporary residence on a fence. They are quickly killed with a special soap-like chemical that only specialized exterminators have.

Rodney Mehring, the Bee Master, expects to use it a lot this year because of the record rains and early bloom. "We're going to have so many wildflowers in the desert and the bees will have so much food that they'll fill up with honey more rapidly. So they will have more swarming, more food and they will make more bees. It is just going to be incredible, just so many bees," Mehring said.

Summerlin resident Mary Gostin did the right thing when she thought there was a hive in her hot tub. She didn't agitate them and called Mehring to come remove them. Gostin said, "He gave me some good suggestions about cutting off their source of water. We have two fountains so they can get water there and stay out of the spa."

In this case, the hive was probably nearby and Gostin will cover the hot tub with plastic to encourage the bees to find another water source. But with a blooming garden, Gostin and hundreds of other southern Nevadans can expect to have killer bee encounters this year.

The Bee Master says that all the rain this winter has caused plants to bloom early, encouraging bees to pollinate, reproduce, swarm and create hives. "The bees this year have been extremely defensive because the season is warm and there's lots of food. The hives are strong and the bees are very defensive."

But if you don't agitate them, they won't sting back. The Las Vegas Fire Department will respond if you are stung, but hive removals can only be done by a professional company.

Tim Szymanski with the Las Vegas Fire Department says, "Don't call 911 to report swarms of bees. We get lots of calls with play-by-play that the bees are in an intersection, etc. It's just like birds migrating to the north this time of the year. Let them go and they won't hurt anybody."

Mary Gostin hopes the bees will permanently buzz away. But with a blooming garden they are sure to be back.

Bee experts also say that you should check the easements of your home once a week and turn over any empty buckets that would encourage a beehive to move in.

The fire department says that regular bees are just as dangerous as Africanized bees -- if they are agitated in their hives.

Bees are needed to pollinate our plants and make them bloom. It is only when a hive is formed that they become protective of their home.

You can also expect more mosquitoes in any remaining pools of water from the rains. But it has not warmed up enough for mosquitoes to really be a concern. (Cindy Cesare, KLAS-TV 8 Las Vegas, 7/8/05).

WHAT TO DO IF BEES SWARM

TUCSON, AZ --- "He said bees, bees. I went over to see what was going on, and he was covered."

Jogger Greg Hovey explains what happened when he and several friends came across a swarm of angry bees.

Hovey and a friend took the brunt of hundreds of stings, Hovey with more than 100, his friend received between 400 and 500 stings.

Both went into shock and were treated, then later released from area hospitals.

"They attack the face and ears and head," said Hovey. "It was just searing pain. We ran away and when we were waiting for the EMTs, we were just on the ground shaking and vomiting. It was a very scary situation."

Bob Love, Chief Ranger at Saguaro National Park, where the attack took place, found the hive of bees that attacked the joggers.

But he left it alone because it's in an off-limits, off-trail area.

"It's more than a quarter mile from the nearest trail. It's in an off-trail area people aren't lawfully supposed to be in, so we decided not to take any action."

Bee expert Jim Hawk of Southwest Bee Supply says bees are typically more active in warmer weather, but in winter months, killer bees have used up their food stores and tend to be more easily aggravated.

In Safford, Arizona, a man cutting down a tree disrupted bee hives and was stung 30 times. He later died. Experts say it's possible he was allergic to bees.

Love suggests the best way to save yourself if you encounter swarming bees is to get moving fast.

"If you are attacked, the best thing to do is just run," he said. "Bees generally will not travel more than one quarter to one half of a mile. You can generally outrun bees. Try to cover your head, they tend to attack the head."

Hawk says you can buy clothing to protect yourself from bees.

He's seen several safety products marketed to protect people from bees. Some are bulky and awkward. One essentially traps the person in a plastic cocoon near the bees. Hawk suggests something small and lightweight, a netted hood that allows you to see, and run.

"It just protects your face. If you can keep your face from getting stung, you can keep your wits about you and put your feet to work for you and stay out of harm's way," he said.

The Tucson joggers who survived their encounter with bees both ran several hundred yards to get away.

Bob Love says the threat of bees is real, but rare.

"This place, [Saguaro National Park], is no more dangerous than it was last week," he said. "I f people pay attention and maintain a safe distance and enjoy wildlife at a distance, they should be okay." (Mark Poepsel, KOLD News-13 Tucson, 1/13/05.)

JOGGER FEARED DEATH FROM ATTACK BY BEES

2 men stung 600 times in Saguaro Park

SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK, AZ --- A man who was among a group of runners attacked by bees Saturday said he thought he was going to die after he and another runner were swarmed in Saguaro National Park.

Greg Hovey, 37, said he and a friend leapt over boulders, cacti and brush to avoid the swarm that stung the pair about 600 times while they ran nearly a quarter-mile to help.

Hovey and more than 30 other runners were trekking through the wilderness of Saguaro National Park East at around 4:30 p.m. when the bees attacked one runner.

Both men belong to the Javelina Hashers, a local chapter of a national runners group.

The 46-year-old man, who through Hovey asked not to be identified, was leading the pack of runners near South Old Spanish Trail when he noticed a bee pestering him, Hovey said.

The runner killed the bee, releasing a pheromone that sent the rest of the hive into a frenzy aimed directly at the runner, Hovey said.

Hovey was around a corner when he heard his friend scream, he said. Thinking the man had been bitten by a rattlesnake, Hovey raced over to find him covered in bees.

"He was waving his arms around frantically, yelling 'Bees!' " Hovey said. "I took my shirt off and started swatting him, trying to get the bees off."

That drew the attention of the hive to Hovey as well.

"I wanted to help him; I just didn't know what to do," he said. "I ended up pulling half the hive away from him onto me."

The pair raced down a hill to a nearby house in the 5700 block of South Old Spanish Trail and called 911.

"When I stopped, I was in a lot of pain," Hovey said.

The effects of about 100 stings caused shortness of breath and vomiting, eventually leading to anaphylactic shock for Hovey. His friend was stung 500 times and also suffered anaphylactic shock. Both men were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, and they were released late Saturday night, Hovey said.

About a dozen other runners were stung, as anyone within a half-mile of the swarm came in contact with the bees, Hovey said.

The insects are believed to be Africanized, or killer, bees because of the size and aggressiveness of the swarm, said Bob Love, chief ranger at Saguaro National Park. It was the worst significant bee attack ever recorded at the park.

No hive had been located, and it had not been determined whether the bees will be exterminated, Love said.

The swarm was in a remote area far from the marked trails that park guests are expected to follow. Love said the runners "were in an area that they shouldn't have been in."

Hovey said that because of their behavior, the bees pose a hazard and need to be removed.

"We didn't see a hive and then disturb it," he said.

Standing in one place and waving their arms was the worst thing the pair could have done, Love said.

"The thing to do is to run as fast as you can," Hovey said. (Aaron Mackey, Arizona Daily Star, 1/10/05.)

BEES ATTACK GROUP OF HIKERS IN SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK EAST

SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK EAST, AZ --- A group of 32 hikers in Saguaro National Park East disrupted a hive of Africanized bees yesterday and several people were stung, including two who were hospitalized with anaphylactic shock, authorities said.

About 4:40 p.m., the Rincon Valley Fire District received a 911 call reporting several people were stung by bees, said Assistant Chief Lee Bucklin.

The hikers, part of a running club, were about eight miles from the road when they came upon the bees. The group scattered and several people wound up separated from the rest.

The two most severely stung were able to make it to a house in the 5700 Block of South Old Spanish Trail and call 911.

One person was airlifted and one person was taken by an ambulance to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Both were conscious, alert and talking, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Pima County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.

Bucklin said both men were in their late 30s. Bees stung several people, but just the two needed medical attention with allergic reactions.

Four hikers were missing and a helicopter was sent to search the area, finding the last person after about 45 minutes, Bucklin said.

From descriptions of the bee attack, Bucklin said he's "90 percent positive" the bees were the aggressive Africanized variety.

Because the bees are on federal land, Saguaro National Park officials will examine the situation and consider removing the bees, Bucklin said. ( Eric Swedlund, Arizona Daily Star, 1/10/05.)

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