Hello All,
In an upcoming article for ABJ I will present exactly what is being done in
Florida to combat a growing serious problem.
I thank Jerry Hayes and the Florida Apiary inspection for letting me look
over their shoulder.
These AHB bees are not bees I would want in my yards. The incidents are real
and in my opinion more aggressive than AHB found in Texas.
In looking through the AHB test results and talking to commercial beekeepers
I was amazed to see & hear names I recognized.
Like Michael Hausel & Dee Lusby to name a couple. Enough said but Michael &
Dee will know what I am talking about !
Queens have been traced back to California & Texas with AHB genetics. Some
close to 100%.
Please don't kill the messenger but it is what it is.
Really does not matter which part of the U.S. you keep bees in. Accept they
are widespread and go about your beekeeping. Keep a close eye out for
aggressive hives. Kick test works best! I recommend killing the hive to
eliminate the drones.
Stop doing walk away splits in AHB areas.
The AHB of Florida many times do not respond to smoke. Only seems to make
the situation worse. One beekeeper reported Carthart heavy coveralls ,
welders gloves and duck taping all openings worked good while killing the
hive.
Bob
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