Bees

A swarm of bees attacked a group of construction workers in Aliso Viejo Friday, sending one man to the hospital and prompting officials to order tests to determine whether the insects were Africanized honeybees. Paramedics treated seven people who suffered multiple stings, and several others who were stung refused care, said Capt. Kirk Summers of the Orange County Fire Authority. The bees swarmed about 11:20 a.m.

It is only a matter of time before so-called killer bees reach Los Angeles County, the county agricultural commissioner told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The good news is that pest control workers are prepared for the invasion of the Africanized honey bees, infamous for their aggressive and sometimes fatal attacks on humans and animals, Commissioner E. Leon Spaugy said.

A layer of bees covered some cars stopped behind a traffic accident after a truck carrying beehives overturned. Four people were injured, including some rescuers hospitalized with bee stings, Ft. Smith station KFSM-TV reported Sunday.

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.

A swarm of bees attacked a Whittier man and his daughter Wednesday, killed their dog and sent children at a nearby elementary school fleeing into their classrooms, authorities said. The bees, which fire officials said may have been Africanized honeybees, flew into the 6000 block of Pickering Avenue about 1 p.m. The man and his 12-year-old daughter were outside their home when they were each stung a few times. They suffered no serious injuries, but their Chihuahua was killed, officials said.

Officials on Tuesday declared much of Los Angeles County to be colonized by Africanized honey bees--although no new bee colonies have been discovered since last month. The declaration that the stretch of Los Angeles County south of the Ventura and Foothill freeways has been colonized essentially serves to put residents and local agencies on increased alert, said Cato Fiksdal, the county agricultural commissioner.

Tests on some of the bees that apparently stung a man to death in Valinda were of the European variety and not of the "Africanized" strain known for their aggressive behavior, state officials said Thursday. Andres Chavez, 57, died Wednesday after he was repeatedly stung by a swarm of about 8,000 of the bees outside a friend's home in the San Gabriel Valley community.

Without fanfare, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an Africanized honeybee action and response plan to deal with the arrival of the notorious creatures. The board unanimously approved the plan without comment. Public education about ways to live safely with bees is a major thrust of the 27-page plan, which outlines roles for various county agencies in dealing with the bees. It caps about two years of preparation and work, similar to efforts throughout Southern California.

A second migrating swarm of Africanized "killer bees" has entered California, officials said Thursday. The swarm--relatively harmless because it had not yet established a hive--was discovered atop a "no trespassing" sign at a school in the Imperial County community of Heber. It was destroyed without incident.

British researchers have shown that honeybees are able to read the directional signals conveyed by foragers in the famous figure-eight "waggle dance." Zoologist Karl von Frisch won the 1973 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for showing that the dance contained directions to food sources. Researchers at Rothamsted Research in Britain exposed bees to a forager's dance, then moved them to a different location before releasing them.