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Killer Bees and Fox News

11K views 67 replies 25 participants last post by  Michael Bush 
#1 ·
Fox News just ran a segment on "Killer Bees".

One of the headlines at the bottom of the screen was "Killer Bees on the attack in Florida" .

Then they listed the deaths associated with "Killer Bees". eg. Horse, dogs, 1000 people in the Americas.

The media certainly knows how to hype the stories.

It's important that we beekeepers do our part to educate the public.

[ February 03, 2006, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Dan Williamson ]
 
#2 ·
Yah. Just saw it myself. Loved how the cameraman that was atacked stated that...nad I quote,"I was stung on the arm by a single bee and was scared!"

My gosh, what an idiot! He stated later that there were about 12 flying around him after he had been stung.

My thoughts are, if it really WAS a AFB attack I would have thought that there would have been a BUNCH 'O bees stinging him not flying around him.

ALso, FYI, the log that the hive was in was set on fire prior to the "attack".
 
#3 ·
The claim of 1000 people dead "in the Americas",
is a bit of a stretch, even for a muck-raking
sewer pipe of tabloid "journalism" like Faux
Newz
("we distort, you comply").

Perhaps a total of 1000 people since day one of
the initial release of the African bees in Brazil
decades ago, but such numbers are impossible to
verify.

Yeah, 12 bees is not an AHB response to sting
pheromone, fer sure. Many videos made of real
AHB are hard to watch because the camera lens
is covered with bees from time to time
and must be cleared with a gloved hand or bee
brush just to allow it to "see".
 
#6 ·
I always thought CNN stood for the Clinton News Network? Prehaps I'm getting it confused with the Clinton Broadcasting Service (CBS) or All Bout Clinton (ABC) or maybe it was No-one But Clinton (NBC)?? ;)
Just kidding guys......Spring can't get here fast enough.

[ February 03, 2006, 06:44 PM: Message edited by: Stewaw ]
 
#8 ·
Jerry Hayes (head Florida apiary inspection) told me on Wednesday both the AP & CNN had been in Gainesville talking to his department.

I warned what would happen. I see the worst happened. Many ways to twist the truth.

The AHB in South Florida ( I returned a week ago after seeing the situation first hand) will be a continuing problem to both beekeepers and the public but certainly not a big deal now.

My article (in line for publication now) will in my opinion explain the issue for beekeepers.

Exactly what is going on and why the situation is different than the AHB situation in other areas of the U.S..

No person has died from AHB in Florida (although one beekeeper worker death is suspect) but many has received hospital treatment. A horse was killed near LaBelle and several pets have been killed. The bees are mostly in the extreme southern areas.

The State of Florida has three plans in place to combate the problem. All three will be discussed in the article.

My article will not cover what Jerry Hayes covered in his ABJ artcle but will start where his left off.

Time will display the depth of the problem. The State of Florida is certainly not sitting by waiting for problems but instead trying to prevent problems. The honey bee is invaluable to the states agriculture which is in the top five in the nation.

Because of the states tourist business changes will be enforced on beekeepers. Beekeeping could become a privlege instead of a right in certain areas. Jerry has said he intends to fight for beekeepers rights as long as they try to work with his department.

A word of warning to Florida beekeepers reading this post from a fellow Floridian and beekeeper.

Try to work with the Florida apiary inspection service as they are the people which most likely will be called as "expert witness" against you in a stinging incident. You don't want those people saying they had been telling you not use locations so many feet from houses or keep AHB out of your hives and you disregarded their requests.

Those of you which think there is no such bee as AHB (Dee Lusby & others) need to rethink your position.

I used the example with Dee last fall about the townspeople in the movie "Young Frankenstein" coming up the lane to the castle to eliminate the problem. Dee Posted on BEE-L last week about a beekeeper close to Tucson which had all his hives destroyed by the locals last month.

Pit Bulls are banned in KC because they were always biting people. I have had friends with wonderful pit Bulls for years and never a problem. The bee situation is similar. AHB could esily cause restrictions which would limit beekeeping for the most careful beekeeper.

The State of Florida wanted awareness of the problem but not what was run tonight. Because beekeepers need the correct and true data I was given honest information on the problem to write an article for ABJ. Only beekeepers read bee magazines for the most part so I can be frank about the problem without causing fear in the public. Our job as beekeepers is to spread correct information and make the public aware but not spread fear. I love Florida and was raised in Florida. I visit often and travel to Florida for business reasons.

Older people (certainly not me although I am retired or sort of) are the people camping in those areas of Florida AHB involved in winter. I want to see those prestine areas enjoyed but those people made aware AHb LOVES to nest in those RV park electric hookup boxes.
 
#10 ·
When I found the first proven AFB hive in our county a few months ago, a news team came out, and while showing them the insides of a few hives the camera man got stung on the arm. He just laughed, and I said "boy, you really have thick skin". He looked at the cutie girl reporter and said "It comes from working with journalists".
 
#11 ·
Mark,
Jerry Hayes said a line from Tampa through Orlando.
I looked at quite a bit of test results in the files and finds have been north of the line but I think (from memory) only around four.
I have got a closeup picture of the computer file the state uses to keep track of test samples included in the article. The room was full of jars with bee samples waiting to be tested.
 
#12 ·
> Jerry Hayes said a line from Tampa through
> Orlando.

The presentation Jerry gave at the TN state
beekeeper meeting included a map showing the
trapping program and the "positive" AHB finds
as verified by DNA testing. While the bulk
of the finds have been around Tampa, clearly
due to the larger amount of shipping arriving
from South and Central America, I recall that
there were dots on the map indicating at least
a few finds near EVERY port in Florida, including
Jacksonville, Panama City, St Joe, and Pensacola.

See http://www.flaports.org/ for a map of the
ports in Florida.

As an aside, when asked to speak at any state
beekeeper meeting, make sure you DON'T follow
Jerry Hayes on the program!
I had to follow
his AHB presentation on one day, and is SHB
presentation on the next at this fall's TN
meeting, and both Jerry and his facts were
very gloomy in both depressing presentations.

I'd rather do stand-up comedy at a wake!
His talks put a damper The whole first
minute or so of my talks!
 
#13 ·
Can anyone explain to me why they believe that proper identification of a honeybee colonies pedigree is necessary.

For me, "Bad bees" are "Bad bees", why should I care if they had an ancestor from Africa?

==================

Aren't DNA tests expensive?

I guess it helps someones conscience to know that they were actually destroying bees that weren't just behaving poorly at the moment, but that they truly were the "evil" AHB.

[ February 05, 2006, 03:42 AM: Message edited by: Joseph Clemens ]
 
#14 ·
Thanks Bob. Most of my NY Migratory friend go south of that line quite a bit.

What's in store for them? What's in store for us further north, wintering in South Carolina? How long do we have? What about NY, itself? What's in store for the non-migratory and small operations? Just some worrys(?) floating through the minds of beekeepers, here in NY.

Yes, Joseph, DNA tests are expensive.

I can't speak for Jerry Hayes, but knowing the DNA heritage would be important to me so that I would have some idea as to where this critter came from.

Did someone say that there is mDNA linkage to the bees in CA?

Joseph, as far as someone destroying "Bad Bees" is concerned, when the public's health is concerned, what would you have done?

Tim Vaughn, was that a typo on your part? Certainly there has been AFB in your county before, right? Did you mean AHb? Just checking.
 
#15 ·
Yes, typo. A DNA confirmation of AHB in San Luis Obispo. I was pollinating for a raspberry grower and took about 30 stings through my beesuit. They chased me a quarter mile stinging my truck. Just like what's happened to or eventually will happen to anyone who's had significant experience working them for any period of time, and it has nothing to do with a lack of Ying Yang consciousness or beekeeping skills on my part.
 
#17 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the migratory almond pollinators greatly to blame for this problem?

California takes such great pains to make sure that the SHB or fire ants aren't allowed into the states almond orchards it would only make sense to do another inspection on the way out or as the bees enter another state to check for AHB.

I know, I know, it’s cost prohibitive and California doesn’t care if the AHB leaves the state but Fl, La, Tx, Ga, NC, SC, etc... should care if they’re coming in.

I think the best thing to do is shut down migratory bee keeping in the country. If a commercial operator can pay to truck bees all over the country and get upwards of $150 a hive to do it he certainly could leave them there and pay for them to be tended by illegal immigrants (who California isn’t so worried about getting into the country)

I realize that that all the money hungry commercial outfits would cry foul, but right now I’m crying foul. They’re making the money and bringing problems to the east coast for the rest of the country to deal with and not looking back.

Perhaps the almond farmers start raising bees of their own or we begin teaching beekeeping in California trade schools and prisons so when kids get out of high school or prison after a doing little time for shooting someone who wears a different color bandana than they do they could be a productive member of society and fill huge need in the state.

just my two cents worth.

Jeff
 
#19 ·
Jeff, the problem is coming to an apiary near you even if migratory beekeeping seaces immediately.

Perhaps Bob and others can put it better or more accurately then me but, the way that I understand it is this.

If there were no migratory beekeeping in the U.S. of A. the territory that AHb would eventually get to, on it's own would be CA coastal and inland some miles and part way up the coast, to where I'm not sure, help me out someone.

Then along the border with Mexico, covering some of those states totally, over to and including FL. Then up the eastern coast, perhaps to NC or VA. Inland from the coast some distance, maybe 100 miles or more.

Also up the Mississippi River a certain distance.

A friend of mine said to visualize a hairlip smile, with the Mississippi River being the hairlip.

And this is without migratory beekeeping, which is something this country couldn't operate without.

Let's not forget that many of the samples in FL are showing up around shipping ports. No migratory beekeper that I know uses ships. Even those with 10,000 or more that I know.

So, what are you going to do? Shut down Forgein Trade? No? I didn't think so.

As far as CA inspecting colonies of bees before they leave, I believe that they are supposed to. Aren't they Bob Harrison or someone?

I know that South Carolina has a policy to the effect that they won't allow anyone returning from a county in CA that is known to have AHb.

There was discussion somewhere on beesource.com recently about some state requiring queen tagging and then inspection upon return to see if the same queens came bak or were superceded. Has that policy been put into place?

Seems like these sorts of problems would bolster efforts by idividual states to get and retain qualified Apiary Inspectors. But that's just me, I'm sure.
 
#20 ·
Jeff,

No, commercial beekeepers ARE NOT responsiable for the spread of AHB for the most part! Most of the spread has been from ships arrriving from AHB areas and natural migration. While a commercial beekeeper may pick up a african hive in Texas, He will requeen it so he can manage it. These bees will spread regardless, Now not to be mean, but you didnt put any thought into your post! It was off the cuff, spontanous and based on emotion without thought.(my long time experience with journalist) Here is why. One...read the above of natural migration....the bees have spread 99% or more by natural means. Two: commercial beekeepers will requeen AHB colonies. Three: California CANNOT support that many bee hives and keep them alive...to many per location/area. They would have to be fed and fed and fed then add robbing, disease lack of pollen and the biggie..you cant keep that many bees and loose money...gotta make a crop!. Three: you cant train a commercial beekeeper in a year or two! Four: A almond grower cannot manage 4,000 colonies let alone learn beekeeping and take care of his trees! Five; the bees will naturally migrate to where ever they can survive regardless of humans and what you want. Six: Without commercial beekeepers the african bee population would be MORE dense making mating YOUR queen more likely to become afranized! Seven: This is my LIVING not a hobby...my interest in gentle/honey production bees IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than a hobbist with a few hives as he makes his money to pay bills someplace else therefore good bees are much more essential to me! ( I was a hobbist starting with two colonies and kept only 50 for 8 years then 100-125 for 15 yrs. before going commercial)eigtht...are u sure you want me to keep going??? Rick
 
#21 ·
Well said Rick!!.I was going to respond ,but then I would have had to just delete my post.
But I will admit to being 'money hungry'.Probably like anyone else that has a family to feed and bills to pay.I dont have thousands of hives just hundreds, and I depend on them too.Each hive gets moved 4 or 5 times a year.I swear to you Jeff,I wont tolerate mean bees.Bees that pour out of a hive on the peck while being loaded with a boom would be an abomination.Plus I keep these bees VERY close to houses at times(this is Ca.-it cant be avoided)I too am concerned about picking up ahbs,my policy will be extermination of any such bees.I want the drones dead too!
--Mike
 
#24 ·
Mark from what I read ,the AHB drones tend to dominate the matings,so it doesnt make sense to me to try to re-queen such a hive, then allow the drones to remain.I always have large plastic leaf bags in the truck to bag up the rare hive I suspect has aFb(to be burned later),so with some pdb crystals to throw in, the hive is effectively gassed off.I would do it in the morning before the drones are out.
 
#25 ·
"You children that want to blaim all of the worlds beekeeping woes on commercial beekeepers kii me."

The one confirmed case of AHB in NY was from a migartory beekeep. So yes they do spread AHB, but so do the hobby beekeeps buying queens and packages from areas with feral populations of AHB. AHB are here, and spreading, so instead of finding blame, lets find a good way to stop them.

"I want the drones dead too!"

Considering that drones drift from hive to hive, any ideas as to how to get all of them??
 
#26 ·
How in the world are you ever going to learn to live with AHB if you don't learn to work with it. It will take time to work the gene pool down but it has to be done. I can remember the day the phone rang & our neighbor already had the truck loaded in the south. The test came back for the 1st wave of mites. Then we found the next ones here in Omaha a few years later. Stop them??? Tell me how. There was a effort to stop both mites & that was a bunch of B/S in the purest form. Go ahead stick your head in the sand, running from this problem & pointing fingers fixes nothing. If I still kept bees & opperated as I did 30 years ago I would have been broke 2 times over at least.
 
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