Monday, April 6, 2009

The Buzz on Bees



I attended a great presentation by Dr. Jamie Ellis about African bees and thought you might be interested in some of the myths about the honey bee situation.

African bees were brought to our continent by a Brazilian scientist in the 1950's, because of their ability to thrive in a tropical environment. They have slowly moved into the US after landing in Texas. Many counties in Florida have reproducing colonies of African bees but so far none have been recorded in Sumter County. Scientists believe that 100% of the wild hives in Florida will contain African bees in the next few years.

African bees look just like our European bees but they are more prone to swarming and are superior reproductively. Increases in African bees will make it more difficult for our beekeepers and more costly due to having to requeen and a possible reduction in honey production.

It is important that people do not panic and develop a fear of all bees - i.e. the Savage Bee movies we watched in the 80's. Bees are vitally important to our agricultural industry and economy - but because of the possibility of running into more aggressive bees it would be smart to stay away from hives and swarms and eliminate possible nesting places around our homes.

And if you do happen on some bees the advice from Dr. Ellis is - RUN!

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