Africanized Bees

Re "Africanized Bees Are Officially Established," April 10: Frankly, I'm rooting for the bees. For centuries, we have been stealing the food laboriously made by bees for their offspring, just so we could have something sweet for tea or toast. How many honey bees have remained stunted pupae, due to our selfishness? They are finally fighting back. If you think this is bad, wait until cows get "Africanized!" LISALEE ANNE WELLS Long Beach

A 70-year-old woman was injured and three dogs are dead after a swarm of bees terrorized a Palm Beach County neighborhood. Authorities say crews removed 50 pounds of honeycomb from the side of a home after the attack. The bees swarmed Nancy Hill and her two dogs. Hill was treated at a hospital, but the dogs died. The bees also attacked two other dogs in the neighborhood. One died and the other was injured. Lab tests should determine whether the bees were Africanized bees, also known as killer bees.

A fourth swarm of Africanized bees has been found about 80 miles outside the Kern County quarantine area, a top state official revealed late Wednesday. Discovery of the swarm in the Sierra Nevada near Lake Isabella caught state officials completely by surprise and it is expected that the quarantine area--which presently covers 462 square miles northwest of Bakersfield--will now have to be greatly expanded, the official, who asked not to be named, said.

A swarm of Africanized bees attacked a man and his father as they repaired a roof in Huachuca City, authorities said. The Cochise County Sheriff's Department said the bees stung Charlie Pasley, 39, more than 300 times. He died at the scene. The swarm also attacked Pasley's father, Chuck, 62, who was reported to be in stable condition at a hospital.

A swarm of Africanized bees attacked a man and his father as they repaired a roof in Huachuca City, authorities said. The Cochise County Sheriff's Department said the bees stung Charlie Pasley, 39, more than 300 times. He died at the scene. The swarm also attacked Pasley's father, Chuck, 62, who was reported to be in stable condition at a hospital.

Africanized "killer" bees claimed their first fatality in California since migrating to the United States seven years ago: a dog tied to a tree where they were nesting. The pit bull, named Killer, was in the backyard of an El Centro home when it was stung by a swarm of the aggressive bees last week. "This is the first confirmed death of an animal or person by Africanized bees in California," Myrlys L. Williams, spokeswoman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture, said Tuesday.

They're heeeere. Africanized honey bees--the so-called killer bees that have been inexorably marching toward urban Southern California for years--are finally showing up. One swarm of the aggressive bees arrived in Lawndale without wearying their wings, presumably stowing away on a cargo ship from South America to the Port of Los Angeles and hitching aboard a local freight train, county agricultural officials said.

The Africanized bees that have been working their way northward from South America into the United States may interbreed with existing bee populations to a much greater extent than researchers had previously believed. This would greatly increase the chances that undesirable traits will be bred out of the population, according to a new report published last week in the journal Science.

A swarm of bees that recently killed a pet dog and attacked a pest exterminator and four firefighters in Fullerton was so aggressive that officials took the unusual step of testing the insects' DNA, certain they'd prove to be Africanized honeybees. But state agriculture officials in Sacramento concluded Thursday that the tests showed the insects were not so-called "killer bees," which were first sighted in Southern California in 1998.

Gordon Waller was the first person in Arizona to be ambushed by Africanized honeybees. Even as a retired federal government bee expert and hobbyist beekeeper, Waller was fooled by the swarm of honeybees that landed on a creosote bush in front of a friend's home. "They weren't anything spectacular," he said. Innocently enough, he shook the branches so the bees would fall into his hive box, and he carried it into the back yard so his friend's children could study them.

As passions often do, the urge to keep bees can strike without warning. Take Ern Shockley's case. Twenty years ago, Shockley, now 79, was an attorney with a busy practice in Los Angeles. Among his clients was a 90-year-old woman who believed there was nothing better for her arthritis than a good bee sting. Before Shockley could say "billable hours," he was the proud owner of 20 hives, and hundreds of thousands of bees. Matt Reese, 71, was smitten in the late 1970s.

To Frank, the goat, they were killers for sure. But Eric Day, a scientist, must approach the issue differently. He is trying to figure out if the swarm that stung Frank to death Wednesday in southwest Virginia consisted of Africanized honeybees, more commonly known as "killer bees." James Downey, Frank's owner and a former beekeeper who was stung more than 35 times by the swarm, thinks it's a distinction without a difference. "They killed some goat, a powerful old goat," Downey said Friday.

Question: I heard that "killer bees" have become a menace in Orange County. What should I do to protect my family? C.R., Fountain Valley Answer: What many people call killer bees are Africanized honeybees. They were first sighted in Orange County in March 1999. While they can be dangerous, they aren't a menace. Fear of these bees should not prevent you from gardening or enjoying other outdoor activities.

A swarm of bees that recently killed a pet dog and attacked a pest exterminator and four firefighters in Fullerton was so aggressive that officials took the unusual step of testing the insects' DNA, certain they'd prove to be Africanized honeybees. But state agriculture officials in Sacramento concluded Thursday that the tests showed the insects were not so-called "killer bees," which were first sighted in Southern California in 1998.

"Sting Operations" (April 24) skims the surface and omits the in-depth discussion that I expect in a leading national newspaper. The residents sound a little hysterical about the threat posed by the bees, while the workers seem totally unconcerned about the larger effects of the poisons they use. This article left a lot of questions unanswered. Are complaints about the bees out of proportion to their real danger? Aren't bees an integral part of our ecosystem, necessary to pollinate flowers and trees?

Holly Ziman threw open her front door before the men in the white mesh suits had knocked, before they'd even trundled across her tidy lawn. "Are you here for the bees?" she asked anxiously. "We didn't know whether they were African or regular or what!" The Bee Team, a pesticide-toting duo accustomed to such fervent greetings, was unfazed. Ever since the infamous Africanized honeybee arrived in Los Angeles County in late 1998, the buzz around town has kept the pair as busy as the bees they chase.

They're heeeere. Africanized honey bees--the so-called killer bees that have been inexorably marching toward urban Southern California for years--are finally showing up. One swarm of the aggressive bees arrived in Lawndale without wearying their wings, presumably stowing away on a cargo ship from South America to the Port of Los Angeles and hitching aboard a local freight train, county agricultural officials said.

They've been found as far north as Oxnard--where an unsuspecting landfill worker couldn't lift a utility box lid because their hive was so large, and as far south as San Diego--the random catch by a net-wielding entomologist near an elementary school.

Africanized bees, which closely resemble European honeybees, are not called killer bees because of the poison in their sting. In fact, the sting of an Africanized bee is no worse than the sting of a regular bee. Neither is likely to sting when foraging. There's a good chance you've seen killer bees pollinating your plants. Africanized bees are easily irritated and become aggressive at the slightest indication that their hive is threatened.