This just out, AIA passes resolution to have Africanized Bees classified as a pest of European Honey Bees.

Apiary Inspectors of America, 2011
Title: Africanized Honey Bee Concerns
Author: Resolutions Committee

The invasive and aggressive honeybee sub-species known as the Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) continues to spread across the Unites States since its first introduction into Texas in 1990. AHB has been identified across the Southern tier of states from California to Florida, and recently was identified in Georgia.

The establishment of AHB in any state poses threats to public safety, to the success of beekeepers who hold and manage honeybees for both personal and commercial purposes, and the ability of beekeepers to own and manage honeybees for pollination of crops valued at $15 billion per year in the United States.

The recent introduction of AHB into Georgia threatens a major honey bee package and queen production industry in the United States, threatening the confidence of that industry to meet the demand for gentle honey bee queens and package bees for both commercial and small scale beekeepers.

In order to meet the demand for honeybee production, the Apiary Inspectors of America, at their annual meeting held on January 7, 2011 do resolve;

1. The United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) or USDA-APHIS PPQ shall identify and determine that the Africanized Honey bee subspecies is a pest to European lines of honey bees traditionally managed in the United States, and a threat to both human and animal health. AIA members believe that such a declaration will allow states to take appropriate steps to regulate the AHB subspecies as a pest.

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