In a message dated 5/10/00 7:06:21 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< Obviously a small beekeeping group can not handle every situation, but how
are things done in other areas? >>

Not very well I gather from the following article. Ignorant fear about
honeybees seems to be rampant in the land of Hollywood. I gather from what
follows there is a kill-on-sight attitude, if not a law, for honeybees in S.
California now that Africanized honeybees have arrived.
Some problems:
   1) There is a glaring (to me) error of accuracy, on the part of both the
vector control people and the reporter. The "bees" are building their "hive"
in the roots of a magnolia tree. Honeybees don't nest in the ground, unless
this is a behavioral characteristic of Africanized honeybees I'm not aware
of. The vector control people are either ignorant, or they are purposely
misrepresenting the type of insect to mug for the reporter who is doing a
story on "killer bees."
   2) Why are these state-government "professionals" dousing hives with
pesticides in the middle of the day, and then leaving a "bucket of
pesticides" to come back a second time and kill the foragers in a few days?
In addition to being wasteful (2 visits), it creates an extremely dangerous
situation for several days as the returning foragers are extremely volatile!
This is a terribly irresponsible situation, and leaves the city wide-open to
a lawsuit. It also will leave an indelibly negative imprint on the minds and
attitudes of people living in the surrounding area about the behavior of
honeybees.
   3) I find the journalist's flip characterization of the pesticide
applicators' work destroying bee hives as glamorous and glorious to be
offensive, gross. The part about these guys standing around a woman's yard
trying to pressure her to come on her property and kill a swarm sounds like
abuse of their mandate as state workers.
   4) The only California victim of the "killer" bees, according to this
article, was a Long Beach beekeeper who was stung 50 times. Are there any
beekeepers out there who have had a bad day with their European bees and been
stung dozens of times? The point is, this happens to beekeepers. The story is
more indicative of the hazards of beekeeping rather than the hazards of AHB,
especially for those among us who don't always wear a full suit. It is highly
unlikely to happen to somebody who isn't messing around with a bee hive. This
is also a classic example of why beekeeps who mug for the cameras with
minimal (or no) protective gear are irresponsible to set the example.
   5) "These are the golden days for bee workers, a time of high public
appreciation and elevated status among their pest control brethren." Is this
reporting, or a public relations campaign? Personally, I receive elevated
status among my pest control brethren when I give them a jar of honey for
sending me all those swarm calls.

From Los Angeles Times
April 24, 2000

HEADLINE: STING OPERATIONS;
CALLS TO PEST CONTROL TEAMS MULTIPLY WITH FEAR OF AFRICANIZED BEES

BYLINE: SUE FOX

      "Holly Ziman threw open her front door before the men in the white mesh
suits had knocked, before they'd even trundled across her tidy lawn.
   "'Are you here for the bees?' she asked anxiously. "We didn't know whether
they were African or regular or what!"
   "The Bee Team, a pesticide-toting duo accustomed to such fervent
greetings, was unfazed. Ever since the infamous Africanized honeybee arrived
in Los Angeles County in late 1998, the buzz around town has kept the pair as
busy as the bees they chase.
   "Bee-related complaints skyrocketed from 31 calls in 1998 to more than
5,550 in 1999, according to the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control
District. The agency, a state-authorized district funded by property taxes,
recently hired 10 workers to keep up with the demand.
   "And as the weather warms up again, hundreds of cries for help will be
heard.
   "'Ten or 15 years ago, if people saw bees in a bush, they thought, "Oh,
how cute, the bees are pollinating my flowers,"' said Richard Baxter, a Bee
Team member who covers the San Fernando Valley, as he zipped on his
sting-proof hood for another call. 'Now, they're very concerned about
Africanized bees.'
   "Last April, agriculture officials declared that Los Angeles County had
been colonized by the aggressive bees--ending any hopes of eradication.
   "Despite their fearsome "killer bee" moniker, they rarely kill people—but
they do attack in larger numbers and pursue people more persistently than
European bees, officials say.
   "Since 1990, six people have died from Africanized bee stings in the
United States, said Robert Donley, director of pest detection for the
county's Agriculture Department. The only California victim was a Long Beach
beekeeper who was stung more than 50 times last August.
   "'If people weren't so aware of the danger , I think we'd see a lot more
multiple stinging incidents and possibly more fatalities,' Donley said.
   "To the eye, Africanized bees look just like their European counterparts,
experts say. But their genes are dominant. Ever since some Africanized bees
escaped from a Brazilian laboratory in the late 1950s, they have been
steadily moving north, taking over the wild bee populations as they go.
   "Experts now assume Africanized honeybees to be so widespread here that
county officials no longer test bees to confirm their genetic origins. Ziman
said she and her husband contacted the pest control district as soon as they
noticed bees buzzing around the roots of their magnolia tree. With
neighborhood children scooting past on bikes and two dogs of their own, the
couple didn't want to take any chances.
   "'It's been a concern ever since we saw them,' Ziman said, ducking as a
stray bee whizzed by. "Aaaagghh! There's one flying over here," she shouted
to the bee squad. "I don't like this." The art of bee removal, at least as
practiced by vector control workers, is fairly straightforward. If the hive
is exposed--say, hanging from a branch--workers spray it with pesticide and
yank it down. If it's hidden inside a tree, they spray it and stuff the
knot-holes with cotton batting, trapping the bees inside.
   "Jeremy Uhlenkott opted for the latter method at the Ziman house, jamming
the cotton into the cracks between the tree roots with a screwdriver.
   "'It's hard to tell if it's all sealed up,' he said. If not, the bees will
find another exit route. Even if the holes are blocked, plenty of bees that
were out foraging will eventually return, only to find their ransacked hive.
So Baxter and Uhlenkott leave a bucket filled with yet more pesticide behind,
promising to return in a few days.
   "For guys who spend their days slugging it out with swarms of angry bees,
they're pretty cheerful. These are the golden days for bee workers, a time of
high public appreciation and elevated status among their pest control
brethren.
   "'People seem to like us more when we show up for bees,' Baxter said.
   "The Vector Control District also handles mosquito and other insect
abatement. While trolling through backyards looking for stagnant water may
not seem as glamorous as bee-busting, the effort keeps mosquitoes from
breeding and possibly transmitting diseases such as St. Louis encephalitis.
   "'With the bees, your adrenaline's going,' said Wesley Collins, who is
currently on mosquito patrol. "But for me, I personally feel like I'm serving
a better need with the mosquitoes. No one likes being bitten by a mosquito."
   "Besides, working the bee shift isn't all glory. Both Baxter and Uhlenkott
have been stung on duty.
   "Not everyone is glad to see the Bee Team roll up in its white pickup
truck, either. Sometimes people yell at them to leave the poor bees alone,
Baxter said.
   "Occasionally, homeowners will insist that they don't have a bee problem,
even when a hive is clearly visible. On a recent call in Valley Village, for
example, a woman swore that her gardener already had removed the hive in her
yard. The team was forced to turn away, even though they could see the bees
swarming around a tree.
   "'We'll probably be back here next week,' Uhlenkott said."