>The comments about Africanized bees bring up an interesting issue.  Given
>the media infatuation with horror stories, one hears rumors that some
>towns and cities are rushing to pass ordinances prohibiting keeping of
>bees.  Seems like we need to encourage Pro-Beekeeping Ordinances.  If you
>outlaw European bees, AHB might end up being the "urban" bees.  Seems
>like we need to keep as many EHB as possible to compete for nest sites
>and for mating.
>
 
Good reply, Jerry,
 
   By now we should have had Africanized bees all over Southern California.
 They were in Yuma, AZ a year ago June and in Mexicali shortly thereafter.
It may that they are now rather widely distributed but that no one has
stumbled onto one of their colonies and provoked the infamous stinging
attack.
 
   On the other hand, it may be that there are so many commercial colonies
in the Imperial Valley (a remarkable year round agricultural region) in the
southeast of California that competition is just too intense for the
Africanized colonies to make much headway.
 
                                                        Adrian
 
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