BRIAN HENSEL wrote:
>     The following story is a report on the death of a man in Arizona
>that died from an apparent attack from African Bee's. My friend knew the
>man who died, and sent me the following report. He wanted to know what
>should this man have done to ward off the attack, and possibly save his
>life. I told him that I did not have any experience in Africanized
>bee's, but I said that I would post the report on Bee-L, because I know
>that there are beekeepers on this list who have had extensive experience
>with Africanized bee's, and would have good advice.
 
I have traveled throughout central and south America and have never
experienced a problem with Africanized bees.  If you call our state
department, they'll warn you not to eat raw fish (cholera) but they say
nothing about bees.  During my travels I have never heard this sort of
hysteria.  It probably happens regularly but not at a high enough level to
cause a panic or newsworthy item.  I'd venture more people died on that
given day in car wrecks in the Tucson area than from bee stings.
 
>     At times I hate the "killer bee" hysteria, especially when some
>people think that all bee's are very dangerous, and they don't want our
>hives within miles of their homes, and how many beekeepers have suffered
>losses over this hysteria? I for one can think of several recent posts
>to this list from beekeepers who have suffered great losses.
 
I think it's up to us to educate the public at fairs, farmer's markets and
other outdoor events.  The press is obviously out to headline these stories
for its shock value.  That scares the public and then we're labeled as
crazy for having bees.  The fact that we're willing to stay in the
hobby/business indicates that it isn't dangerous.  We need to drive that
fact home.
 
>     I wish that with this news report they would have had a rebuttal
>from a local beekeeper to tell people how to handle such emergencies,
>and to say that people should not be alarmed. I realize that this is a
>serious problem and scares people to death, but I tell people that a
>person can die from just one sting from any bee or wasp if they are
>allergic.
 
This situation in Arizona where there are many seasonal residents and a
huge influx of out-of-state visitors and people moving from other climates
makes this situation worse.  They have many buildings that sit unused for
several months and then the seasonal resident returns and attempts to use
the facilities as if they were not gone the last six months.  This leads to
problems with rattlesnakes and lizards that are poisonous.  Everyone is
used to those so we don't see them in the news.  The out-of-towners also
are not aware of the dangers of snakes, lizards and bees so they heighten
the possibility of a tragedy.  If people would treat these situations with
a healthy respect and be careful when opening little used outbuildings and
facilities, these deaths might be preventable.  I know this was the case in
the second "africanized bee" death, an older man went to his shed that he
had not used for six months and got stung profusely because he could not
run.  If a younger, more agile person had carefully checked the shed and
been careful the older man might have been spared.
 
>  TUCSON, ARIZ. - MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL from Dialog
>  via Individual Inc. : Gary Elam was lying on his couch when someone
>  pounded on the front door of his mobile home and began screaming for
help.
>  Sprawled on the front steps was a man whose head ''was just literally,
>  completely covered with bees,'' said Elam, who lives with his wife,
>  Mary, and his daughter, Mary Jo, 30.
>  ''They were all over him, but mainly his head. It was just an ugly
>  sight,'' Elam, 56, said of the fatal bee attack he witnessed Tuesday.
>  Elam dialed 911, then the family threw buckets of water onto the
>  victim through the screen door that shielded them from the swarming
bees.
>  Then they went outside and hosed him down. The victim was Frank Garcia,
72,
>  according to investigator Ernie Appel of the Pinal County Medical
>  Examiner's Office.
>  Garcia was pronounced dead 55 minutes after Elam's call, Appel said.
>  Preliminary autopsy results Wednesday indicate Garcia died of
>  anaphylactic shock due to multiple bee stings, he said.
>  Garcia is apparently Arizona's third human fatality due to an
>  Africanized ''killer'' honeybee attack. Though the bees have not been
analyzed by
>  a qualified laboratory, the mass attack is ''clearly African (bee)
>  behavior,'' said Eric Erickson, director of the Carl Hayden Bee Research
Center in
>  Tucson.
>  When the ambulance arrived, Elam said he helped administer CPR while
>  paramedics struggled to get breathing tubes down Garcia's swollen
>  throat. ''This man was covered literally with hundreds - if not a few
thousand-
>  bees,'' said Chief Steve Kerber of Regional Fire and Rescue, part of the
>  emergency crew that responded. ''He was just saturated so heavily, like
a
>  blanket of bees, which is really a horror-show-type scenario.
>  ''Everybody's heard the horror stories, but nobody wants to believe
them,''
>  Kerber said. ''This is proof that it can and will happen, that these
bees will
>  blanket you and sting you to death.''
 
Notice this report does not include the particulars of this attack.
There's no background into what caused the mass stinging.  If someone goes
up to one of your hives and messes with it this same incident can occur.
Would the news report that the victim stupidly started taking apart a bee
hive without protective gear or procedures or would they label it an
africanized bee attack.  I'd bet they would go for the sensational rather
than the educational story.  This story should have included what the older
man did to provoke such an attack to educate the public about the dangers
of africanized bees instead of sensationalizing this story for sales.  If
they had done so they may have prevented future deaths.  It's a shame that
the press refuses to use their power to help people.  Especially since they
use educating and helping the public as justification every time they need
a first amendment argument.
 
I guess I'll get off my soapbox now.  Sorry for the use of bandwidth but
this issue really gets under my skin.
 
Ted Wout
Red Oak, TX