Dee Lusby  wrote:

>Also so-called AHB didn't reach our
>area until about 1996 by state declaration with finding
>next to our SC yards too by the way for FWIW.

According to Dr. Schneider:

The African bee arrived in Arizona in 1993 and has subsequently established
large populations that contain few or no European matrilines.

The mountains surrounding the Tucson basin harbor a large population of
feral African colonies and forage availability at these higher elevations
declines during the fall and winter months.  This may result in large-scale
absconding into the Tucson basin, where horticultural and agricultural
activity result in increased floral abundance during this period.  Many
usurpation swarms may therefore be small reproductive or absconding African
swarms that would have a low probability of surviving if they attempted to
establish their own nests, especially during fall and winter.  Rather, these
swarms may adopt a strategy of invasion and reproductive parasitism, and
this tendency may be particularly pronounced during seasonal absconding. 
Nest usurpation may therefore be an important component of the annual colony
cycle that contributes to the spread of African matrilines in the Tucson region.

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