Hello Barry & All,
Barry wrote:
 If this viewpoint is no longer held by these authors, can you point me to
their updated views? I'd be interested to read them. Actually, I found this
 article to quite refreshing and far more down to earth without all the hype
 than a lot of what I read on the subject of AHB's.
*What is known about Africanized hybrids*
 From a beekeepers standpoint some of the most simple questions about AHB
were never answered. They were mainy not answered because of a lack of
funding. I attended the American Beekeeping Federation meeting in Austin,
Texas mainly to learn about AHB. I found out quickly how little was really
known about AHB. .
*Things I learned about AHB in Austin*
I learned that the only way a beekeeper could know if his hive had been
taken over by AHB was the hold a little card up to check if any newly drawn
cells were 4.9mm (or slightly less than five cells to the inch). You can
send a sample off if you are willing to wait weeks for the results. Kicking
the hive was the scientific test recommended(really!).  Ahb fly into the
entrance more than European bees( but not always they said). AHB can but not
always have a characteristic wing venation.
Beekeepers living in AHB zones said they always kick the back of their hives
slightly before working the hives. If AHB queen then the bees boil out. The
beekeeper  then suits up with lots of smoke and finds and kills the queen
(or kill the entire hive). At times they   split the hive into three nucs
which at times can be requeened. Although AHB workers can at times lay
fertile eggs ( like the cape bee) the beekeepers in Texas reported only
finding one queen in the hives. At least those beekeepers  talks I listened
to and the Texas beekeepers I talked to during the meeting.  Several had
dequeened the hive and sent a sample and yes the bees were Africanized. One
of the sideline beekeepers which spoke at the meeting said he had around 3-5
hives taken over a year by Africanized bees. The above is directly from my
notes from Austin.
Not one beekeeper I have ever talked to which has really seen a hive of
aggressive AHB's have said to me they would want to keep those around.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri