EXTENSION SERVICE UPDATE---- APICULTURE AWARENESS VOL 3, ISSUE 10 AFRICANIZED HONEY BEES FOUND IN RIO GRADE RIVER VALLEY NEAR HIDALGO, TEXAS WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 17--Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture today confirmed that a swarm of Africanized honey bees (AHB) has been detected and destroyed in the Rio Grande River Valley near Hidalgo, Texas. Africanized honey bees have been moving northward from South America since 1957. "The Africanized honey bee swarm detected near Hidalgo is the first such swarm found to have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border." said James W. Glosser, administrator of USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service. "We are conducting surveys and intensified trapping to determine whether other AHB swarms are present. APHIS is committed to helping agricultural officials in Texas eliminate initial swarms." Officials with USDA's Agricultural Research Service found the swarm on Oct. 15 during a regular check of ARS swarm traps in the area. These traps, which have a chemical lure or pheromone to attract and capture migrating swarms, have been in place for a number of years to help ARS researchers gather data on honey bee swarms. The swarm was destroyed and samples of the honey bees were identified by the ARS laboratory in Weslaco, Texas, and confirmed as Africanized by the ARS Bee Identification Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. The ARS facility in Beltsville is the only one authorized to confirm AHB identifications for USDA. "Although this is the first time we have trapped a natural introduction of Africanized honey bees in the United States," Glosser said,m "we have intercepted and eliminated AHB swarms artificially introduced on ships arriving from South and Central America many times since 1979. The Agricultural Research Service has been instrumental in identifying these swarms." Glosser said APHIS, the federal agency responsible for protecting U.S. agriculture from foreign pests and disease, will work with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service based at Texas A&M University to eliminate other initial swarms if they are detected. APHIS and ARS will continue to inspect honey bee traps in south Texas to monitor the spread of the AHB front through Mexico into the United States. SOURCE: News Release, Office of Press and Media Relations, USDA (202)447-4026 AHB INFORMATION RELEASE FROM APHIS On October 15, a swarm of AHB was found and destroyed near Hidalgo, Texas. This was a pioneer swarm which normally is found well in advance of the main AHB front. The honey bees were captured in a swarm trap operated by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA. Samples were identified at the ARS laboratory in Texas and confirmed as Africanized on October 17 by the ARS laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. A honey bee delimiting survey is being implemented in a 2-mile radius of the find as called for in the joint Texas/APHIS AHB action plan. A press briefing will be scheduled for October 18, at a location in Texas to be announced. Mr. Otha Barham of our Domestic and Emergency Operations staff in Hyattsville, Maryland, has been designated as the contact person for APHIS headquarters. His telephone number is Area Code (301) 436-8247. SOURCE: Richard R. Backus for B. Glen Lee, Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS AFRICANIZED HONEY BEE (AHB) UPDATE October 4, 1990 More traps have been added to the PPQ trap line that runs from Sullivan City, Texas, to Rio Grande City, Texas. There are 257 traps in place in seven trap lines. Janna Evans, with the office of Legislative and Public Affairs in Hyattsville, was in the Rio Grande Valley the week of September 24-28, 1990. During that time, she contacted schools, radio stations, TV stations, city managers, and county agents and presented to them information about APHIS trap lines, the identification laboratory, and AHB. Contact was made with the Harlingen and Brownsville School Districts. A request was made to include honey bees in their science classes. The Harlingen School District has designated the week of November 12-16, 1990, as "Bee Awareness Week." During that week, local beekeepers and the AHB Program Manager will visit the local schools to give presentations and answer questions related to bees, AHB's, and the traps. The Brownsville School District will video tape "special messages" targeted to children from Kindergarten to seventh grades. Why the traps are in the field, to leave them alone, and what to expect after the AHB arrives will be emphasized. A positive AHB find was reported from Linares, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. This is the first AHB find in Nuevo Leon. The town of Linares is located about 120 miles southwest of Rio Grande City and approximately 75 miles east of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The State of Tamaulipas has established a trap line from Nuevo Laredo to Cd. Mier, Tamaulipas, which parallels the border between the U.S. and Mexico. SOURCE: Elba Quintero, Africanized Honey Bee, Program Manager, APHIS (512)427-8527 JAMES E. TEW Ph.D. National Program Leader, Apiculture Extension Service, USDA INTERNET [log in to unmask] BITNET TEW.1@OHSTMAIL TELEMAIL JTEW FAX (216)262-7634 PHONE (216)264-3911