Africanized Honeybees Found in Louisiana

Africanized Honeybees Found in Louisiana

www.newsday.com

NEW ORLEANS - Africanized honeybees have been found near Tioga, about eight miles north of Alexandria and 140 miles southeast of the Caddo Parish town where they were first discovered in Louisiana.

At their current speed, they're likely to cover most of the state by the end of next year, said Allen Fabre, coordinator for nursery and bee programs for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

"I think they'll be to the Mississippi line by end of 2009," Fabre said in an interview Thursday. "Some beekeepers from Mississippi were in California for a meeting last week. I told them they're knocking on their door, and they know it."

(visit the link for the full news article)

Behold, the day has come when we have witnessed not only the demise of the North American Honey Bee and the benefits it brings, but have also witnessed the rise of the Africanized Honey Bee, and the dangers it brings.

Times are tough all around...

www.newsday.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

They are getting too close to me to just be ignored. Good information, and thank you for putting it on the board.

It appears that these bees have taken to the warmer southern states and out west in California. I guess time will tell if they venture north. I'm actually rather interested in this post because I'm looking to take up keeping bees. It would be good to know what I'm dealing with.

I think we killed a nest this past fall here in Georgia. At first we thought they were yellow jackets the way they attacked before we got a look at them. I have been around honey bees before and they never attacked us the way those did. They covered the truck that we were in and I got a good look when they covered the windshield. They looked just like the pictures of the Africanized Bees.

reply to post by DamnedDirtyApes

I'm looking to take up keeping bees. It would be good to know what I'm dealing with.

Hi DD,
I have had many a bee colony in my early days so wish you luck! They are a fun hobby. Here is an interesting article African Honey Bee: What You Need to Know1 that pretty well covers the projected impact of the Africanized bees. I think if I were to keep bees again the best management technique would be to requeen with fresh "clean" genetics often. The AHB problem really only affects the lower 1/3 of the US so northern beekeepers probably will never be affected.

So we go from one destructive and invasive species responsible almost singlehandedly for the eradication of North American flora, to an highly aggressive version of the same bug that pollinates less.

Huh. Wonder how that will end up.

reply to post by plumranch


Hey Plumranch,
Thanks for the article and for the advice. I'm looking forward to reading the article.

The spread is further than most people think.


Just look at the full size map, it indicates the years that the bees spread.
www.ars.usda.gov...

For that matter, look at the Department of Agriculture main page on Africanized bees and you can see what a threat these will be in the future.
afrsweb.usda.gov...

Can we tie this one to global warming, or is it adaptation as they march north ???

Can we tie this one to global warming, or is it adaptation as they march north ???

reply to post by anxietydisorder

Hi Anx,
No reason to tie this into GW. The AHBs have been taking their time spreading northward and there's not a reason to believe they won't continue a northward spread. But they are getting out of their original habitat and are less adapted to northern clims.

There are a few deaths of Hu and animals each year attributed to AHBs. If it spreads over the entire US and Canada there would be more bee deaths times 2 or 3. But that is highly unlikely unless you like doomsday sinarios. So AFBs are an unfortunate side effect of globalization. Not the end of humanity. We already know how to cope with the AHB, just read African Honey Bee: What You Need to Know

Really the biggest problem with these critters is the fear generated in people (usually by the driveby media) about AHBs. "It's a bee, an AHB, I'm gonna die" type thing.... Better to worry about the condition of your tires or whether you should change the oil, IMHO!

I remember back in the 80's when they were telling us that it was just a matter of time before they had made their way up into the US. I was in JR High at the time and they pretty much had me convinced that the AHB's would bring about the end of the world :lol.

Well, 20+ years later and they still haven't ended the world. They do seem to be slowing moving in and I can't say that I am thrilled about that. But on the grand scale of things for me to worry about, they are still low on my own personal scale. I am not saying that I am not concerned, just that the world is so screwed up right now, the long term effects of AHB's seems fairly insignificant in comparison.

They're pretty common in So.Calif, mostly in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

I just watched a special on them the other night. Apparently they don't like the cold, so they're not expected to go into the northern, colder states.

So they say.