Its that time of year when beekeepers seem to drift off into the Land of Oz
and ruminate about "killer" bees so here is a tread started in
sci.agr.beekeeping posted so you won't feel left out.<G>
On Mon, 2 Nov 1998 20:47:42 -0800, [log in to unmask] (Peter Amschel)
wrote:
>There are not any dramatic, and maybe not even any subtle anatomical
>differences between Africanized honeybees and normal honeybees. Insect
>biologists don't say exactly how they are supposed to be able to tell the
>difference anatomically. It seems to be established in the scientific
>community, therefore, that the Africanized bee is identified by its
>behavior, not by its anatomy.*
Today in the US anatomical differences are measured to determine if
the suspected bee fits in the profile, same science developed and used
by the German's in WWII in running their death camps, and then shades
of OJ, DNA tests are made...only thing about this DNA the only 100%
pure African hive found in the US was found years before the first
recorded arrivals from South America all the rest have been called
Africanized I guess cause they ain't so pure, but then no body has yet
been able to take these so called Africanized and breed them backwards
to pure African so I would guess their genes are also not so pure also.
No behavioral measurement are made in Africanized regulatory tests in
the US. One reason for this is that in the past we have been able to
demonstrate bad behavior in bees that exceeds anything reported in
Africanized bees prior or since to its introduction into the US.
Honey bees have been killing people here since the first introduction
from Europe which also were themselves said at times to be "fire
eating bees that could swell the pockets shut on a old sows purse".
Old timers referred to them as German Blacks or Spanish Bees depending
on how far south they lived.
A few, and I believe its all a bunch of BS hype and so do some in the
upper rooms of government as the federal program will soon expire.
In the original tests at Bakersfield California the more time the
tests were repeated on the same hives the more so called Africanized
bees were found. The quarantine was lifted not because NO Africanized
bees were found but because after repeated tests they were found in
hives that were known to have been re-queened with Northern California
queens a few months earlier..
>This is why it has been concluded in information published on the
>Internet, that the phenomenon of Africanized bees is an
>example of the phenomenon of demon possession. The most well known
>historical example of demon possession occurred in
>the days of Jesus when a demon possessed man who lived among the tombs
>approached him. This man (there may have been
>two demon possessed men) was under demon control so that it was not
>possible even to restrain the man with chains. Jesus effectuated a cure
>of the man by ordering the legions of demons out of his body, and when
>the demons exited his body they entered into the bodies of 2,000 swine,
>completely possessing and controlling the swine.
That's at the least original and would look as good in some of the
quarantine orders I have seen as what they did contained and I am sure
experts could be found that would back it up word for word.
>"Question: How is the Africanized bee different from the domestic honey
>bee?
> The physical differences between the European and Africanized hone bee
>are so slight that it is difficult even for an expert to make a positive
>visual identification. Complex testing procedures are used to distinguish
>between the two bees.
> The most obvious characteristics of the Africanized bee have to do with
>its behavior. Africanized colonies are consistently more defensive, more
>apt to swarm and move, and are less selective in choosing a nesting site.
>The colonies also occur in greater numbers."
I know we have been all trained to believe that Africander bees are
different and always aggressive but beekeepers who work with them
every day mano e mano do not know that difference. All one has to do
is to see a crazy gringo or native beeman working his bees in cut
off's in Brazil or any other place that has Afro bees to realize that
someone has been fed a line... In any case if the Africanized bee story
was true and as dramatic as it has been written there would be no
reason at all for anyone to lie about it, or set up the press, right
...well see this url for some background.
http://beenet.com/texmex.htm
Be sure and check out this guys credits...he's not God but has no
reason to lie about the work he has done. You will find his bio at the
bottom of the page.
ttul, the OLd Drone
http://beenet.com
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