All,

I think my recent post on the spread of AHB was slightly misunderstood.
Bill Truesdell refers to himself as a positive nay sayer and disagrees
with my assessment of the risk.  I very much respect Bill's opinion
based on his many posts over the years.  But I disagree with the
statement that northern beekeepers are cowering from the problem.
Anyone that has kept bees for a while has experienced a hot colony for
any number of reasons.  I am not worried about beekeepers being afraid.
It is negative media, fueled public that really scares me.  I consider
myself very fortunate to have the locations I do for my yards.  But I
would lose every one if there was a "THREAT OF KILLER BEES".  One is at
a wildlife sanctuary open to the public, where buses of school children
parade near my colonies each spring.  We also have an observation hive
set up and have never had a stinging incident.  I also keep bees at
Rodale's (Organic Gardening, Prevention Magazines) organic research
farm.  The bees are part of the education tours.  Possibly they could be
moved to a more remote area, be we then lose the opportunity to
demonstrate the value of honeybees in educating the public.

Bill also mentioned that the Southerners are dealing with the problem.
I agree, but as I noted the population densities are quite different in
the South and West.  I have a beekeeping friend from South America.  He
kept AHBs.  He also spent a good some of money paying for a few hundred
dead chickens that were killed by bees and it was never confirmed that
they were actually his bees. But if you really want to see the impact it
has had on the public, just open the Phoenix Yellow Pages.  The pages
are full of ads for "KILLER BEE SWARM REMOVAL".  Actually, some
beekeepers are making good money because of AHB.  In 1998 I received a
call from the Phoenix site of the company I work for.  At the time I was
the regional safety manager and this was one of my sites.  A swarm
landed right in the middle of the parking lot on the ground.  The site
manager remembered I kept bees so he gave me a call.  I told him to call
a local beekeeper.  He did and one arrived to capture the swarm.  The
beekeeper did pretty much what I told the manager he would do.  He put a
box on the ground and left the bees march in.  He did do something I did
not expect.  He said something about AHB and charged the facility $175
for his 20 minute service.

Getting back to my point.  The fear of AHB.  If you have never been part
of a product liability lawsuit consider yourself blessed.  It could go
something like this.

Mr./Ms. Beekeeper, were you aware the bees in your colony that stung and
killed my client's dog were Killer Bees?

No, but we don't refer to them as...

Thank you.  Your colony of bees that killed my client's dog is headed up
by a queen, correct?

Yes, but I am not certain it was my...

Thank you.  Where did you get this queen?

From a reputable queen breeder!

Where is this breeder located?

Florida.

And is not true that bees in Florida have been confirmed to be Killer
Bees?

Yes but wait they are not.....

Thank you.

Isn't it true that killer bees would probably not travel this far north
on their own accord?

Yes, but wait they are not....

Thank you. Just so we have this straight. You admit that you knowingly
purchased a queen from an area known to have killer bees and placed it
in your colony  in an area where killer bees should not exist.  And this
said colony then attack and killed my client's prize pooch.  Why would
you do such a thing?

Well, er, wait, I don't; they said if we tried to stop the spread of AHB
it would hurt beekeepers.

Ok cut the theatrics, but do you see my point.  This can happen and
anyone doesn't think this is possible, give me a call I am sure I have
something for sale you need.  Common sense and reason disappear during a
lawsuit.  All I am saying is we need to at least attempt to stop this,
rather than just accept it.

I don't want  to beat a dead horse and I will probably shut up on this
for a while.  If AHB does claim the entire US, I truly hope I am wrong
and the situations I described will be nothing more than the ranting of
an old beekeeper.  Wait a minute I am not that old.

Ron

Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, PA

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