Any credible info available concerning the 'first arrival' of a. scutellata in the U.S.A, on a cargo ship in the early 70's ? Also, I'm researching the etymology for the term 'killer bees'. It has been remarked that Apis mellifera scutellata are so called killer bees due to their habit of attacking Italian and German bees for no apparent reason, killing off hive after hive, but I have no credible reference to this remark. If the above is true, it might suggest the term did not derive from 'abelhas assassinas' -Portuguese which translates 'bees murderesses' and appears to have been first used in military press releases in 1965, some 9 years after the introduction of a. scutellata into Brazil. Best Wishes, Joe Waggle http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/ *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm