This is a most welcome topic. There is a deluge of interest in keeping
honeybees.

Here in Los Angeles the feral population is totally Africanized. We have
ideologically-motivated converts to beekeeping eager to catch their first
swarm, and while there are feral colonies that behave nicely, our local
wannabees are loathe to admit they have a hive which is a nuisance. To deal
with an aggressive hive on a city lot in LA is to dry-ice it. I have sworn
off feral bees here, as some of you may be aware, since I do "contract
beekeeping" for folks all over LA County. Many of these my bee lovers want
me to use a swarm they found in their lemon tree. Which I will, and requeen
immediately.

There is a real dearth of beekeeping texts which are written for the
southwest. It does seem like the default of most such instruction books is
that of a midwestern or even eastern locale where a swarm pickup is a great
way to start beekeeping. Tom Seely's works are revered among the devotees
and rightly so. But dealing with Africanized bees is barely touched upon,
and I think it's a crying shame.

Our newbees need to learn to find, buy and use purchased queens (with metal
tape over the candy for 10 days) with their early lessons.

Ruth in L.A.

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