WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 17--Officials with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture today confirmed that a swarm of Africanized honey
bees (AHB) has been detected and destroyed in the Rio Grande
River Valley near Hidalgo, Texas. Africanized honey bees have
been moving northward from South America since 1957.

"The Africanized honey bee swarm detected near Hidalgo is
the first such swarm found to have crossed the U.S.-Mexico
border." said James W. Glosser, administrator of USDA's Animal
Plant Health Inspection Service. "We are conducting surveys and
intensified trapping to determine whether other AHB swarms are
present. APHIS is committed to helping agricultural officials in
Texas eliminate initial swarms."

Officials with USDA's Agricultural Research Service found
the swarm on Oct. 15 during a regular check of ARS swarm traps in
the area. These traps, which have a chemical lure or pheromone
to attract and capture migrating swarms, have been in place for a
number of years to help ARS researchers gather data on honey bee
swarms.

The swarm was destroyed and samples of the honey bees were
identified by the ARS laboratory in Weslaco, Texas, and confirmed
as Africanized by the ARS Bee Identification Laboratory in
Beltsville, MD. The ARS facility in Beltsville is the only one
authorized to confirm AHB identifications for USDA.

"Although this is the first time we have trapped a natural
introduction of Africanized honey bees in the United States,"
Glosser said,m "we have intercepted and eliminated AHB swarms
artificially introduced on ships arriving from South and Central
America many times since 1979. The Agricultural Research Service
has been instrumental in identifying these swarms."

Glosser said APHIS, the federal agency responsible for
protecting U.S. agriculture from foreign pests and disease, will
work with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service based at Texas A&M
University to eliminate other initial swarms if they are
detected. APHIS and ARS will continue to inspect honey bee traps
in south Texas to monitor the spread of the AHB front through
Mexico into the United States.