[Pollinator] Fwd: CATCH THE BUZZ - More On Georga's AHB Incident

[Ladadams at aol.com]

____________________________________
 From: Kim at BeeCulture.com
To: LDA at pollinator.org
Sent: 10/21/2010  10:32:36 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: CATCH THE BUZZ - More On  Georga's AHB Incident


This ezine is also available online at 
_http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2010.10.21.13.35.archive.html_ 
(http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2010.10.21.13.35.archive.html) 

CATCH THE BUZZ  
Africanized  Honeybees Found in Georgia  
FOR IMMEDIATE  RELEASE October 21, 2010  
More on the Story  Released Here Yesterday  
Entomological tests have confirmed  that Africanized honeybees were 
responsible for the death of an elderly man in  Dougherty County last week.  News 
reports say the man accidentally  disturbed a feral colony of bees with his 
bulldozer and that he received more  than 100 stings.  
“This is the first record of  Africanized honeybees in Georgia,” said 
Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.  
Africanized honeybees are a hybrid  of African and European honeybees.  
Because of their extremely defensive  nature regarding their nest (also 
referred to as a colony or  hive), they are sometimes called “killer bees.” Large 
numbers of them  sometimes sting people or livestock with little 
provocation.  
The Africanized  honeybee and the familiar European honeybee (Georgia’s 
state insect) look the  same and their behavior is similar in some respects.  
Each bee can sting  only once, and there is no difference between Africanized 
honeybee venom and  that of a European honeybee.  However, Africanized 
honeybees are less  predictable and more defensive than European honeybees.  
They are more  likely to defend a wider area around their nest and respond 
faster and in  greater numbers than European honeybees.   
Africanized  honeybees first appeared in the U.S. in Texas in 1990.  Since 
then they  have spread to New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, 
Oklahoma,  Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and now Georgia.  Entomologists and  
beekeepers have been expecting the arrival of these bees in Georgia for  
several years.  There has been an established breeding population  in Florida 
since 2005.   
Because Africanized honeybees look  almost identical to European honeybees, 
the bees from the Dougherty County  incident had to be tested to accurately 
ascertain they were the Africanized  strain.  The Georgia Department of 
Agriculture sent samples of the bees  to the Florida Department of Agriculture 
and Consumer Services which has the  capability to do FABIS (fast African 
bee identification system) testing and  the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture 
identification test (the complete morphometrics  test) to confirm the bees’ 
identity.  
“Georgia beekeepers are our first  and best line of defense against these 
invaders. They are the ones who will be  able to monitor and detect any 
changes in bee activity,” said Commissioner  Irvin.   
“The Georgia Department of  Agriculture is going to continue its trapping 
and monitoring of bee swarms to  try to find where any Africanized honeybees 
are,” said Commissioner  Irvin.  “We also want to educate people about what 
to do in case they  encounter a colony of Africanized honeybees.  Georgians 
can visit our  website for more information.  The University of Georgia 
Cooperative  Extension Service has a publication on Africanized honeybees that 
is available  online 
(_http://pubsadmin.caes.uga.edu/files/pdf/B%201290_2.PDF_ (http://pubsadmin.caes.uga.edu/files/pdf/B%201290_2.PDF) ) or at 
Extension offices.”  
.  
Don’t Forget!  
Hives of European  honeybees managed by beekeepers play an important role 
in our lives.   These bees are necessary for the pollination of many crops.  
One-third of  our diet relies on honeybee pollination.  
People can  coexist with the Africanized honeybee by learning about the bee 
and its  habits, supporting beekeeping efforts and taking a few 
precautions.  
Read an  EXCLUSIVE CHAPTER from Tom Seeley’s new book Honey Bee  Democracy, 
only on Bee Culture’s web page _Here!_ 
(http://www.beeculture.com/content/HoneybeeDemocracy.Seeley.BeeCulture-Final.pdf)   
Build an entire bee hive with just  a table saw. Go to _Garreson 
Publishing_ 
(http://www.makingbeehives.com/?utm_source=catchthebuzz&utm_medium=email&utm_content=garresonpublishing&utm_campaign=byline) . Books by Peter Sieling. 
  
Find out What Is New At Mann Lake  right _Here_ 
(http://www.mannlakeltd.com/catchthebuzz/index.html)   
Protein feeding pays off with  better health, better survival, better 
production, and better  wintering. _Learn  More._ 
(http://www.globalpatties.com/pages/why.html)     
FREE - Kelley Bees Modern  Beekeeping Monthly _Newsletter_ 
(http://www.kelleybees.com/CMS/CMSPage.aspx?redirect=ec0f9b29-81f2-4a5f-9e9c-9182673c0329)   
Quality Top Bar Hives by Gold Star  Honeybees - good for you, good for your 
bees, good for the planet. Check us  out at _www.goldstarhoneybees.com_ 
(http://www.goldstarhoneybees.com/) .  
Subscribe to Malcolm Sanford’s _Apis Newsletter_ 
(http://www.apis.shorturl.com/)  right here for a  comprehensive listing of beekeeping events around 
the country and around the  globe, check out _Bee  Culture’s_ 
(http://www.beeculture.com/)  _Global  Beekeeping Calendar_ 
(http://my.calendars.net/bee_culture/)   
This message brought to you by  _Bee  Culture,_ 
(http://www.beeculture.com/)  The  Magazine Of American Beekeeping, published by the _A.I. Root  
Company._ (http://www.rootcandles.com/)   
Check out the Biggest Honey Show  there is this fall at 
_www.honeyshow.co.uk_ (http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/)   




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