Taking the Sting Out of the ‘Killer Bee’ Myths

BUENA PARK — They are the stuff of pulp science fiction and B movies like “The Swarm.” But that media image of Africanized honeybees--popularly known as “killer bees”--worries public officials trying to prepare for the bees’ expected migration into California next year.

Hoping to stave off the public panic usually associated with the bees’ arrival, Orange County officials arranged a one-day symposium to educate local emergency personnel, school officials and beekeepers in the behavior of the bees.

The bees “are going to move in and be established, and we can live comfortably with it if we know how to handle it,” County Agriculture CommissionerJames D. Harnett said. “But it’s going to take education. There is no quick fix.”

The symposium at the Sequoia Athletic Club in Buena Park drew 170 people, including officials from nearby Knott’s Berry Farm. County officials are concerned that fear of the bees could hurt tourism and business but hope that their concerted education effort will minimize that.

Virtually identical in appearance to the common European honeybee, the Africanized honeybee is easier to provoke, which can result in a larger number of stings. While each bee can sting only once and its venom is no worse than the common bee’s, Africanized honeybees send out more bees to sting when they are disturbed.

The bees have been steadily migrating northward since their escape from a beekeeper who bred them in Brazil in the mid-1950s. The current strain is the result of a cross between African and European honeybees, said James E. Tew, an entomologist with Ohio State University and leader of the federal government’s apiculture program.

The bees got their killer nickname as an adaptation of their Spanish name, asesinas, which means assassins, but officials said the name referred to their ability to interbreed with local bees and take over hives.

In 1990, the bees reached parts of Texas, where they have interbred with the local honeybee stock, originally imported from Europe. While no one in the United States has died from an attack of Africanized honeybees, more than 100 stinging incidents have been reported and some pets and livestock have been killed, officials said.

Tew said the Africanized bees disrupt life by causing fear in the public and making hives more difficult to manage. “They pollinate OK, but they’re unfriendly,” he said.

For commercial beekeepers like Hamid Fard and Vinciana Pasierb, a husband-and-wife team who live in Huntington Beach, the advent of Africanized bees means they must be more vigilant about monitoring their 200 hives throughout the county.

“We have to mark our queens and check regularly, so if we find a new queen we need to remove it from the hive,” said Fard, who has been a beekeeper for 17 years. Because the Africanized bees look like a slightly smaller version of the European bees, most people usually don’t know which type of bee they are dealing with, experts say.

If the bees in a hive become aggressive, Fard said, the hive cannot be transported. Growers of avocados, almonds, vegetables and other crops pay $15 to $35 for the pollination services of each hive. It will also be more difficult to collect honey if Africanized bees take over a hive, Fard said.

While beekeepers remain confident of their ability to manage their hives, county officials are worried about what will happen when the bees and Orange County’s large suburban population do come in contact.

School and emergency response officials attended the conference to learn what to do when people accidentally disturb nests.

Officials from the county’s Vector Control District already have visited Texas to find out how officials there are handling the situation and what they can expect when the bees migrate to California.

Tew said bees in Texas have been discovered nesting on power line poles and in cement water meter boxes on the ground. “Obviously, you don’t want a meter reader just opening the thing up,” he said.

Once the bees move into an area, they interbreed with local bee populations and can’t be eradicated even if individual nests are destroyed, Tew said.

Experts are still studying ways to keep the bees at bay. Tew said some scientists are hoping that they can find a bee that can outbreed the Africanized variety.

County Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder, who made opening remarks at the symposium, said she fully backs the work of the technical group formed last year to prepare the county for the bees’ arrival. She added that her granddaughter is allergic to bee stings.

Preparing for ‘Killer Bees’ Orange County officials are trying to prepare fo rthe expected arrival next year of Africanized honeybees, or “killer bees.” The bees were released during an experiment in Brazil in 1957. How they have migrated northward over the years. 1994: Bees due in Southern California. 1957: Bees released. Africanized Honeybees Migrate about 100 to 300 miles per year. Sting in greater numbers; can follow someone up to a quarter mile from their nest. Establish hives in fall and spring, when they are most likely to sting because they have hives to defend. What to Do, Not to Do Don’t disturb them. Cover head with clothing; run indoors. Check for beehives twice a week during spring and fall. Put screens over rain spouts, water meter boxes; remove piles of trash and junk. Call local vector control or fire department; don’t try to remove nest yourself. If stung, scrape, don’t squeeze, stinger out with fingernail or sharp-edged object. Seek medical attention if you are allergic or are stung many times.

The Truth About ‘Killer Bees’ Myth They’re bigger, more distinctive than European honeybees. They sting more than once. One sting is deadly. Venom is highly toxic. They hunt for victims. Fact They are smaller, but only experts can tell them apart. Like other bees, they lose stingers after one sting. Their sting is no more painful than other bees. Venom is nearly identical to that of any other honeybee. They are easily provoked, but only at defensively. Source: Orange County Vector Control; Researched by CAROLINE LEMKE / Los Angeles Times