City of Phoenix killed big batch of swarming honey bees on Friday.

[lonestarnot]

Guess they were afraid someone would get stung. Made me very sad :(

[Warpy]

1. They might not have been honeybees.

They might have been Africanized honeybees, which have gotten up as far as Phoenix.

[lonestarnot]

3. They didn't seem pissed off. I though Africanized types hated loud noises

and attack such noise sources with ferocity.

[Warpy]

4. They hate noise, movement, and the color black

I wonder why they didn't call a beekeeper to collect them. Most apiarists would be glad to get a swarm.

I guess any wild swarm is assumed to be Africanized.

[lonestarnot]

10. They wanted to be expeditious I guess due to populated buildings and high traffic.

[Mojorabbit]

25. My honeybees

don't like black either. I always wear light colored clothes when I work with them. Our county has numbers for beekeepers who will come out and pick up a swarm. What a shame they killed them.

[Catshrink]

5. One of my workbuds, here in Phoenix, had a colony living in her house!

Her daughter called her at work in hysterics "Mom, there are bees in the house!" My bud thought she was exaggerating. Nope. They were living in the duct work. The exterminators told them they were the Africanized bees.

About 5 years ago I had a colony living under my house. There were several thousand and I wouldn't have figured it out but my neighbor lady saw a story on the local news and alerted me about it. I love my nosy neighbors!

[Warpy]

34. I had them in the wall of one house

It was weird to hear them in there.

I took care of it myself.

[lazer47]

2. When the Bees are gone,, humans won't be far behind

[shugah]

11. einstein predicted 4 years

4 years after the bees are gone...

[lonestarnot]

12. linky dink?

[lonestarnot]

13. Undertermined according to Snopes

http://www.snopes.com/quotes/einstein/bees.asp

[alfredo]

14. Honey bees are not native to America. Humans lived here long before

the Europeans brought over the "White man's fly." Honey bees are just one of many pollinators. What makes them useful is the distance they are willing to fly in search of nectar.

[EstimatedProphet]

32. Nah, not really

Granted, we would be in serious trouble if all pollinators disappeared. CCD really only affects honeybees, which are non-native. Native bees, such as orchard bees and bumblebees, aren't known to have the same troubles, and they pollinate more of our crops.

[marybourg]

6. I did too. Cost me $400.

In 1 week they moved in and colonized my little waterfall and pond outside of Phoenix and buzzed me when I tried to go outside, even after dark! They were africanized and the bee keeper had to kill them because no one wants these bees. Your sadness is misplaced. People and animals have died terrible deaths, being stung thousands of times by these bees, and they're coming YOUR way!

[lonestarnot]

7. I didn't ask them their nationality. They looked like bees and they weren't bothering anyone.

[Catshrink]

8. These kind take over the honeybees' hives and kill them

The Africanized bees don't produce a lot of honey. They are bad news.

[lonestarnot]

9. How does one tell the difference other than aggressiveness?

[Catshrink]

15. Here's some info

It's a good read -- the Africanized bees produce very little honey. The article doesn't compare their pollination habits. I might have been wrong about that.

http://www.earthlife.net/insects/afr-bees.html

edited for my freeperish spelling.

[lonestarnot]

18. Thanks Catshrink!

:hug:

[NoName Left]

30. An interesting link - thanks, Catshrink. n/t

[1]

16. their little bee gang signs. the way they move their antennae into to "throw up" their affiliation.

plus, they probably wear low slung jeans, a bandanna and carry a "gat".

:rofl:

[lonestarnot]

19. Just so it's a gat and not a cat.

:D

[Catshrink]

21. Cats go "gaaaach"

[lonestarnot]

23. My two kiddlees were very bad at 3 am this am. They cornered a little fluffy cat who

got into their dry food outside and had a scream in. TC has some scratches around his eye just like an alley cat. He got a good scolding. They are roughing it because of the guide dogs in the house until the Moms recuperates. She's very much on the mend, but still having bad moments. :hi:

[cliffordu]

17. Apparently they are SOOOOO aggressive that no further proof is needed.

No Kidding...

I understand they will chase people and animals basically until they lose sight of them.

[lonestarnot]

20. These had to have been just regular bees then. No one was chased, or even stung.

[handmade34]

22. most people can't tell the difference

I have raised honeybees for years. There are many variety of bees(most commonly kept by apiarists are Carniolans and Italians) and AHBs are very much like all others, they pollinate and their sting is no more potent, only they tend to get angry quicker and easier and attack in greater numbers. Unfortunately the media has hyped up AHB's and irrational fear is powerful stuff. It is sad anytime we lose bees because they are so very important to the production of fruits and vegetables. We would all be wise to do all we can to save and keep honeybees alive. (AHB's should be eliminated when possible)

[lonestarnot]

24. I felt badly about them, because there were dead ones everywhere. A few were left that congregated

on a branch in the tree. No one appeared to try and determine whether they were regulars or meanies. Had it been me, I would have called a bee hiver dude, keeper.

[NoName Left]

29. Question...

I don't keep bees, but my business depends on pollination and I try to keep up with beekeeping news. We have had three wild colonies take up residence within the last 2 years - to my delight (and they aren't aggressive at all). Is it accurate that Africanized bees can't survive northern climates that have winter freezes?

[handmade34]

31. AHB's don't survive cold climates well because

they don't store as much honey. If your bees aren't aggressive and they have good shelter, hope they survive.

[NoName Left]

26. "Africanized" bees are hybrids and they produce more honey than European bees.

Below is a link to general info on "Killer Bees". While they are considered to be more defensive of their hives...and yes, people have died from being swarmed...the fear factor assigned to them (and thus, in many peoples' minds ANY honey bee) is exaggerated. Any they DO pollinate the same as any other bee..along with bumblebees and other insects.

There are people who are deathly allergic to any kind of bee or wasp sting; for some, a single sting is lethal.

Many "exterminators" would be happy to identify any bees as killers and accept your hundreds of dollars to exterminate them. Tom DeLay comes to mind...he would try to convince us lady bugs are killer bees if he thought there was a chance of making bucks off of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africanized_bee

[L. Coyote]

27. That's because swrms of bees kill people in Arizona.

[classysassy]

28. Where was

sheriff joe,those damn foreign bees without green cards.

[lonestarnot]

33. Good damn question! And they're brown too! Flying while brown must carry at least a couple

felonies! Maybe he's laying low because he's being "vestigated."