Africanized Bees Spotted in SW Arkansas

[TomClash]

I guess they didn't see Bowling for Columbine.


BRIGHTSTAR, Ark. - Some unwanted arrivals from Texas have been spotted in this southwest Arkansas town. State Plant Board officials say the presence of Africanized honey bees has been confirmed in Brightstar, in southern Miller County.

The aggressive insects are popularly known as "killer bees" because they are more likely than other varieties to respond in large numbers to animals or people who disturb their colonies. The bees' venom is no more toxic than that of the European honeybee, but they are more dangerous because they attack in larger numbers.

The Africanized bees have been expected in Arkansas for several years, since they entered Texas from Mexico in the 1990s.

Swarms of the Africanized honey bees have been moving north since the accidental release of some bees in 1957 from a program in Brazil, where they were being bred to improve that country's domestic bees.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050618/ap_on_sc/bad_bees

[1932]

1. Racist. Remember the scene in Bowling for Columbine?

[vogonjiltz]

2. Why do you hate america?

The africanized bees are comming here to do the work that our european bees fon't even want to do! We must call an amnesty and work permit program for afrocanized honey bees.

[1932]

8. And if those bees don't like it here, they should go back to Africa.

[VegasWolf]

13. Yeah, or at least Texas. nt

[TomClash]

11. I'm no racist - read my post nt

[manic expression]

18. I believe 1932 was referring

to the article and to the general idea that "Africanized" Bees are more dangerous than "European" bees.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't referring to you.

[TomClash]

20. OK then

That was the whole purpose of posting the article.

[manic expression]

21. I agree,

and I think s/he was agreeing with you as well.

[Karla Marx]

3. It's Clinton's fault!

Call out the Arizona Minute Men! They'll keep the borders safe.

[mom cat]

4. Welcome to DU Karla Marx! Good Idea about the Minuremen.

:rofl:

[VegasWolf]

14. Hey, that's clever! Welcome aboard! nt

[Poll_Blind]

5. Killer bees invade Arkansas? FINALLY! (n/t)

PB

[mistertrickster]

6. As a former bee-keeper, there are a few things you can do if you

wander into close vicinity of a bee hive.

One, if bees land on you, don't smash them. They emit a "killed bee" scent that attracts other bees. Brush them off briskly and back away.

Two, don't run or flail your arms. Movement is attention-getting.

Three, get away and into a car, a house, underwater, etc.

Usually bees won't really chase you, they just want to drive you away from the hive.

If you get stung, use a single fingernail to pull the venom sack away from the stinger. Otherwise it will continue to pump venom into the skin like a hypodermic needle. Also, take oral benedryl ASAP. If you get stung more than two or three times, call a doctor.

[KittyWampus]

7. So This Summer It'll Be Killer Bees & Not Shark Attacks? Or Maybe Both?

[newswolf56]

9. Also danger from Sharbs: flying fish that live in...

...giant underwater hives and attack in swarms, killing by teeth and the stingers in their elongated tails. The result of genetic engineering -- the combination of honeybee and shark genes -- they were created by agromonopoly scientists in an attempt to produce a cheap source of honey-scented, readily combustible fish-oil as a substitute for petroleum.

Not to mention Pelligators: genetically engineered hybrids combining Pelican and alligator genes, an agrobiz effort to control the burgeoning Sharb menace by creating another predator.

[dbt]

10. I believe those bees have been here since 1998.

There was obviously a hive of aggressive bees somewhere in West Little Rock at that time. Having been around honeybees both wild and tame since I was a child, I don't worry about getting too close to a bush where a bunch of bees are working. You have to seriously piss off worker bees before they will stop their gathering to deal with you.

One afternoon in early June of 98, I was outside for a break and walked near a bush which happened to be full of bees. When I got within about seven feet, here came a dozen bees or so, indicating they did NOT want me near the lunch wagon! I retreated, so did they. I went near the bush again, they came at me again--most UNlike what I am used to from honeybees.

These bees were larger than most honeybees, yet smaller than a bumblebee and decidedly agressive. Perhaps they were an isolated swarm, an advance party--but they sure were different!

One never knows just what's in a bush, do one?

[marbuc]

16. One never knows just what's in a bush, do[es] one?

Sometimes you do, and vote for him anyway!

[GHOSTDANCER]

12. We should hope that we get African Bees!!

Our bees are so inbreed here(funny this being Arkansas and all)that the queens are producing too many steril males that don't do shit but sit around shooting blanks. Not to mention that 4 species of bummble bees have disappeared in the recent past.

[mistertrickster]

17. Right, I don't know about the inbreeding, but bees are very vulnerable

to pesticides, so crop-dusting type operations just decimate them.

Also, there're two bee diseases that have seriously knocked back wild and feral bee populations and are causing major problems for apiaries.

[Algomas]

15. Killer bees are in my back yard...

They have swarmed into one of our trees and are busy setting up camp. Last night I tried to persuade them to move along but just managed to piss them off. This is the third time in two years we have had to deal with them.

[mistertrickster]

19. How do you know they're killer bees?

The killer varieties look virtually identical to the normal Italian bee. Some people think they're smaller, but there are also small Italian bee types too.

What you could do is get a cardboard box (like a desk top computer or reams of paper would come in). Put a dish of honey (or a cup of water with 3 cups of sugar boiled into it), put the top on it, seal it with duct tape, and cut a three inch by 3/4 inch opening at the base of the box.

Set it on a step ladder next to the swarm. They should all go into the box in about two hours.

Go out at night when they are all in the box and seal up the opening with duct tape. Be careful because Africanized bees will fly at night, more so if there's a moon.

You now have the hive controlled, but don't wait too long because the workers will chew through the cardboard once they're trapped.

You can either kill the whole swarm or call a local bee-keeper. He or she could kill the old queen and introduce a new mated queen which would then produce un-Africanized off spring. The "killer" bees would eventually die of old age after about six weeks.

[Algomas]

23. Thank you for the bee wrangling tip...

I think they are "killers" because of the aggressive way they behave. If I approach the swarm, soldiers are immediately sent out to attack. They are very defensive!

[mistertrickster]

25. That is unusual for a swarming hive. Usually they just try to find a

place to hole up ASAP, and are remarkably docile when they're swarming. In fact, I've seen old timers take a box hive and hold it under a swarm on a branch and just shake the bees down into the box.

So you might be right.

[LeftofU]

22. Do you think they'll try to lynch'em?

[dbt]

24. Nah. We only do that to people from, say, Colorado.

:evilgrin:

[Megahurtz]

26. Are you kidding?

Those Africanized Bees have been in California for several years now.
No new news to us!

[BiggJawn]

27. And we have Chinese Carp in the Wabash.

The DNR is cautioning people to be SURE and wear your PFD because these suckers will jump into the boat, and getting hit with a 20-pound fish could knock you out and knock you over the side...

I had to check to make sure it wasn't April 1 or that I was watching "Onion TV" when I saw that....