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- David R. Tarpy
- Assistant Professor and Extension Apiculturist
- Department of Entomology, Campus Box 7613
- North Carolina State University
- Raleigh, NC 27695-7613
- TEL: 919-515-1660
- EMAIL: david_tarpy@ncsu.edu
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- European honey bees (EHB)
- Behaviorally acceptable stock
- Africanized honey bees (AfHB)
- Genetic hybrids that may or may not be behaviorally acceptable
- European queens mated with African drones
- African honey bees (AHB)
- Behaviorally unacceptable stock
- African queens mated with African drones
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- Some differences in the biology between African and European honey bees
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- How the AHB has supplanted the resident EHB population and remains so
ecologically dominant
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- What to look for in your hives to tell that you might have Africanized
bees
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- How scientists and officials can distinguish African from European honey
bees
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- It is not a questions of whether or not the AHB will be introduced to
NC, as they almost certainly will be, but a question of whether they
will become permanently established.
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- Things that every beekeeper can do to address the AHB issue
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- Mark all queens; no exceptions.
- Regularly check hives for unusual external clumping of bees, as these
may be parasitic AHB swarms.
- Requeen any colony that is unacceptably defensive or contains an
unmarked queen; use only queens from a known EHB source.
- Inspect hives for behavioral signs of AHB, particularly after they are
transported in and out of known AHB areas.
- Send suspect samples to authorities for morphometric or genetic testing;
place 30 to 50 adult bees in a small container, fill with enough 70%
ethyl alcohol to cover the bees, and label with contact information,
collection date, and location.
- In an Africanized area, attempt to make all potential AHB nesting sites “bee
tight”; avoid storing empty beehives outdoors.
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- Keep AHB incidents in an appropriate context during media
interviews. DO NOT include box
hives in filming about stinging incidents, as this promotes a negative
perception of all honey bees. DO
include managed hives in filming about the benefits of beekeeping.
- Avoid speculation and answer only those questions to which you know the
answer. Read articles that
provide the background information necessary for explaining the AHB to
the media and public.
- Don’t sensationalize defensive behavior by using terms like “aggressive”
or “vicious.”
- Make clear the relative risk of the AHB; the number of deaths each year
from stinging incidents are far fewer than dog attacks, food allergies,
even lightening strikes.
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- Emphasize that beekeepers are on the front lines of defense—beekeepers
are part of the solution, not the problem.
- Be a good neighbor and inform anyone who may be in close proximity to
your hives; educating them about the benefits of honey bees and the
relative risks of AHB should lessen their fears.
- Establish and maintain lines of communication between local beekeepers,
first responders, and local officials.
- Make people aware of the distinction between yellow jackets and bees, as
many people mistake wasps for honey bees. Increased public awareness of the
different types of stinging insects will reduce the number of erroneous
AHB reports.
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Notes
