cross-posted for information/discussion purposes only from

http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/ocnews/20001019/t000099802.html
Thursday, October 19, 2000

Bees That Stung Woman Were Domestic
Genetic tests rule out Africanized swarm in vicious attack on
Lake Forest senior, county entomologist says.

By H.G. REZA


Genetic tests showed it was domestic, not Africanized,
honeybees that attacked a 77-year-old Lake Forest woman who
was hospitalized for a week earlier this month after she was stung
hundreds of times.
Nick Nisson, entomologist at the Orange County agricultural
commissioner's office, said DNA tests showed the bees that
attacked Jackie Wright were a hybrid of a species that originated
in Egypt.
"This hybrid has been around here for over a century," Nisson
said.
Africanized bees can be extremely belligerent and, in some
cases, kill humans and animals when provoked.
Wright, a resident of Freedom Village, an apartment complex
for seniors, was sitting in the garden Oct. 1 when workers
removed a side panel from a building at the complex, disturbing a
colony of bees.
The bees swarmed around Wright and began stinging her as
she ran to the driveway. Orange County Fire Authority officials
said that paramedics found hundreds of bees flying around Wright
when they arrived. It was estimated that she was stung between
300 and 500 times.
She was transported to Saddleback Memorial Medical Center
in Laguna Hills, where she was treated for an allergic reaction until
her release Oct. 9.
Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times