Subject: Tex-Mex feral swarms
 
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Subject: Tex-Mex feral swarms
 
 
A question was asked in an recent post about beekeepers keeping
"killer" bees, and I just got a letter from a beekeeper in one of
the areas outside of Texas that has been reported to have the dreaded
Tex-Mex bee I thought others may be interested in reading. This is from
a full time 3rd generation beekeeper and his wife who also is a good
beekeeper.
 
                           ttul Andy-
 
Oct. 22, 1994
 
   "I have some bees that you might like to look at. They seem to have
about five pounds of pollen every time I pull the tray? They walked
eight or ten inches down and around the pollen trap and did battle with
the ants. The ants gave up. This was a tiny, feral swarm that I gave a
frame of brood and a little bit of food this spring. I supered them in
June and didn't look again until mid-August, at which time the bees were
literally boiling out of three lead-heavy bodies; almost unbelievably
populous. I put the trap on and gave them another super."
 
    They are not extremely well-mannered, but I LOVE them."
 
   Not at all like the conditions I find when I go to my apiaries.
 
                                ttul Andy-