UPDATE ON WESTERN KILLER BEES
 
According to one of many interesting reports and studies on the so
called advance of the African Honey Bee in California and the west
was a report that 98 confirmed AHB swarms have been identified in
Arizona and "one was from the 7,000 ft elevation near Flagstaff,
Arizona". On its way to winter in Colorado no doubt. If some of you
don't know one popular route for travellers comes out of Colorado at
Flagstaff, but not necessarily one I would want to truck bees on.
 
The reports of new finds 90 miles east of San Diego reported in the
press several times the last three weeks were actually found much
earlier but only just confirmed as AHB. New DNA studies to determine
if the AHB has moved out of the area they are know to have been found
in earlier this year found not only AHB in the area but also found a
large number of local swarms that passed the DNA tests for bees from
Egypt (Apis mellifera lamarkii). Interesting to note that this is the
Date growing area of California, not a good place to bee sitting under a
tree eating your dates. Also some one should point out the DNA study
did not sample any bees outside the know AHB area so it really is not
honest to say the AHB has not spread out of this area based on this
study when only bees inside the area were checked.
 
So far as far as I can find out none of these bees have been reported as
aggressive other then the one swarm that attacked two tree trimmers
stinging one all of 25 times, (most beekeepers would not find out
of the ordinary if they were up in a tree working with tools and came
across a swarm of any kind of bees).
 
Also interesting that wild bees from a well know site in SW Arizona
also tested with the DNA test was found to have the DNA of bees from
Egypt over a year ago.
                           ttul OLd Drone
 
 
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