Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Africanized bees confirmed locally

The Africanized bee, sometimes called a killer bee, has made its debut in Clark and Nevada Counties.

While there are some myths about these honey bees - that theyll seek out a person or animal in an unprovoked attack - theres no doubt that theyre more aggressive than a traditional honeybee.

Nevada County Extension Agent Melissa Beck said the Arkansas Plant Board has insect traps around the state and that bees caught in those traps are tested for the African gene. Nevada and Clark counties have each had a positive test in recent months.

There are some 1,400 registered beekeepers in the state. Colonized swarms are usually not overly aggressive unless they are disturbed. The difference is genetic - those with the African gene are simply more likely to aggressively defend their homes.

One of the biggest problems, according to Mark Stoll of the Arkansas Plant Board, is that swarms of Africanized bees are also not aggressive. That means a beekeeper may catch a swarm and attempt to colonize those bees, only later discovering that the bees carry the African gene.

That tendency, along with natural migration patterns, are what brought the bees to Arkansas, Stoll said.

The bees were fist discovered in Texas in 1990. A flurry of media attention followed, including Hollywood versions of the killer bees habits.

Stoll said the bees would likely have arrived in Arkansas sooner, but a drought in Texas slowed their progress.

Today, the state considers Miller and Lafayette counties as home to established Africanized bee populations. The gene has been found in Columbia, Union and Bradley counties as well.

Closer to home, a bee with the African gene was confirmed in Nevada County near Prescott and in Clark County near Gurdon. Stoll said the confirmed case at Gurdon was near the train yard.

Bees can hitchhike, he said.

One of the unfortunate side-effects of the appearance of Africanized honey bees is the tendency to kill all wild bees. Stoll said research indicates that one of every three bites of food can be directly or indirectly attributed to the honey bee. That ranges from honey produced by the bees to food dependent on pollination to animals that eat the grass thats been pollinated by bees.

Regardless of how important the honey bee is, theres also a human safety factor to be considered. Colonies that establish themselves near - or even inside - places people inhabit become a problem. In the case of Africanized bees, a person who wanders near or disturbs the bees with loud noises such as power tools may provoke them into attacking. Stoll said one important point about the Africanized bees is that they tend to remain aggressive for up to eight hours. A person who walks by hours after the initial provocation may be attacked.

For more information about bees, including those with the Africanized gene, contact Beck at 887-2818 or visit the plant board Website at www.plantboard.org, then click on the honeybee icon at the bottom of the page. The site includes a map of the state including counties that have confirmed Africanized bee populations.