[StBernard] More Africanized honeybees found in St. Bernard Parish

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Wed Sep 12 22:56:54 EDT 2007


Since the bees are now here, wouldn't calling them "African-American"
Honeybees be more politically correct?

John Scurich

-----Original Message-----
More Africanized honeybees found in St. Bernard Parish Posted by St. Bernard
bureau September 11, 2007 4:13PM More Africanized honeybees have been found
in St. Bernard Parish, the state Agriculture and Forestry office said
Tuesday.

The "positive sample'' was found in a trap on the Mississippi River in near
Meraux, the office said in a news release. The site is about five miles
downriver from a confirmed find earlier this year, the news release said.

"In January, a colony of Africanized honeybees was found in a St. Bernard
Parish house being torn down because of damage from Hurricane Katrina. The
proximity of this find indicates the bees could be a swarm from that colony
or could be from a ship or barge passing by on the river," Agriculture
Commissioner Bob Odom said in the news release.
"Although the exact source can't be identified, we have to assume
Africanized honeybees are now established in the area and people should be
careful when working outside."

The Department of Agriculture and Forestry maintains Africanized honeybee
traps along a north-south corridor through the state and at all deepwater
ports. These traps will continue to be utilized in monitoring the
progression of Africanized honeybees across the state.

So far this year, LDAF's New Orleans District has collected 40 samples from
traps near the Mississippi River and the port. Five of the samples were sent
to the USDA for further confirmation. Of those, three were negative, one was
positive and one is pending results.

Africanized bees are smaller and more aggressive than the European honeybees
commonly raised for honey production. Their hostile nature concerns many
outdoor enthusiasts.

"Because Africanized bees have been labeled 'killer bees' for years, there's
an idea around that they are bigger than European honeybees," Odom said.
"The truth is they're actually smaller but a lot fiercer."





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