The Martin County Commission Tuesday passed what may be the first
ordinance in Florida banning Africanized honey bees, capable of
stinging children and animals to death.

The ordinance authorizes county officials to obtain a warrant to
remove the bees and their hives from private property. It also
authorizes county officials to charge property owners for removal and
court costs.

There have been 22 complaints about the highly aggressive bees in two
years in Martin County. The number is expected to rise because bee
colonies split eight to 16 times a year, said Gene Lemire, the
county's mosquito control administrator.

The new ordinance will help county officials deal more effectively
with rental and abandoned properties when bees have stung people or
pets and owners can't be reached or won't respond to requests to get
rid of an Africanized honey bee colony, Lemire said.

"It's very tough to find an ordinance out there on Africanized bees,"
Lemire said. "I think this will be the first one in the state of
Florida."

-- The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News

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