In a message dated 4/5/00 4:59:58 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< I don't believe U.S. beekeepers are going to be as thrilled with AHB as
the article states. >>

   Perhaps if we want to make an accurate prediction about Africanized honey
bees and U.S. bee culture, we should look to the contemporary history of
beekeeping in Mexico, where AHB is now "omnipresent."
   In the current issue of American Bee Journal, Carl Wenning reports on the
Mexican experience of AHBs and mites.
   "After the arrival of the Africanized honey bee and parasitic mites, the
annual honey production trended downward. Honey production in 1996 was off
30% from five years earlier. In recent years honey production within Mexico
has been on the rebound because Mexican beekeepers have learned to deal
effectively with the africanized honey bee and mites, and have been using
more modern production techniques."
  He writes further that many beekeepers in the southern half of the country
cannot afford protective equipment for working with AHBs. American beekeepers
will not be prevented by poverty from acquiring such equipment.
  Predictions that the beekeeping industry will disappear in parts of the
U.S., or be significantly damaged, are overblown (though they have probably
been effective for loosing the purse strings for more research dollars). The
rewards of beekeeping, both real and pyschological, will lead new beekeepers
to pick up the tradition and learn new management techniques for the
Africanized bee, thereby replacing those who are unwilling or unable to
change.