Did the local gov cover up the AHB in south Georgia?

Started by AllenF, October 22, 2010, 10:27:16 AM

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AllenF

I heard on the radio this morning about the "killer bees" that killed that man in Albany Georgia this morning.  And it got me to thinking, what if the local government knew about mean bees down there and just never told anyone about it.  There was a post a few weeks ago about a hive in the open on an oak limb and the city came out and killed the hive.   http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,30148.0.html   This was in Albany also.  I just think it was weird that the city would come out to kill bees.   I know around here they would tell you to call someone else.   And these bees were stinging the guys at the house when they came outside.   Now someone has died from these AHB down there.  http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=159260     And with this quote  ""Georgia beekeepers are our first and best line of defense against these invaders. They are the ones who will be able to monitor and detect any changes in bee activity," said state Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin in a statement."   Just how many AHB hives are in south Georgia?   And did the local people there know about "mean" or "hot" hives?

fish_stix

Now what kind of questions are those? How on earth would anybody know how many AHB hives are in S. GA.? And how is the state supposed to keep a count? My bees get hot at times and they're not AHB; we requeen at least once per year. We've had AHB in FL for quite a while; no big deal. We operate normally, as does every other beekeeper I know. You're getting all worked up over nothing. They've had them in TX, NM, AZ, CA, UT, NV for a long time, more than 10 years. Believe it or not, beekeepers are still alive and well in all those states. :roll:

AllenF

The state is suppose to have traps all across the state.   But the bees were found in Albany and there the city kills swarms of bees.   City workers do this.  I know of no other city that takes care of pests for people.

I can live with AHB.  I just wonder what rules the state will put on us because of this.  Will I have to permit my bees?   Have hive inspections?   Mark my queens?   Kill all illegal hives and swarms?   Limit where and how many hives I keep in an area?

fish_stix

Most states require registration, not permits. Yes to inspections, if your state has the funds for inspectors; not going to inspect for AHB, just AFB, varroa etc. Marking not required; what good would it do? Don't know of any states that require killing hives; FL recommends requeening with European queens ASAP when you catch a swarm and annual requeening for all hives. Have not been limited in number of hives; makes no sense! Quit worrying! There's nothing anyone can do about this problem other than EDUCATE. You will not have a problem if you just normally care for your bees. If for some unfathomable reason you get AHB in a hive, requeen; or if you don't want to work with them to requeen, a contractor size garbage bag to seal up the hive will calm them down in a couple hours. For quicker results seal the hive in the bag after placing a block of dry ice on top of the frames. Presto, nice gentle bees!

Michael Bush

>But the bees were found in Albany and there the city kills swarms of bees.

"Nature abhors a vacuum"--Alexander Pope
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

ArmucheeBee

Our Georgia representative for the Ga. Beekeepers Ass. said the bees will not live here and can not live in cooler climates.  The same was said about fire ants which came from Brazil also!!!  Now fire ants are showing up in CANADA.  As a pest control supervisor in Milledgeville, I dealt with fire ants for five years and know them too well.  I think we need some education on what natural selection and evolution is!!!   Things CHANGE.  So the propaganda for public consumption has started in Georgia--so much for education.  I welcome AHB to Rome, I welcome the increase in honey production but dread the state government involvement that will come from this--I already need a permit to sell chickens at trade day--what next??????   Oh, I was told, by a Florida beek, that local governments in Florida kill swarms on site too.

http://www.gpb.org/news/2010/10/22/no-need-to-worry-about-bees
Stephen Stewart
2nd Grade Teacher

"You don't need a license to drive a sandwich."  SpongeBob Squarepants

AllenF

I agree with you on the government regulations that will come.   But on greater honey production, I do not agree.  Having all you bees leave your hives in August when there is nothing blooming in north Georgia, or swarming 16 times in a year?  Or having so many feral hives in your area, your bees loose out on a percentage of the available nectar in your area. 

buzzbee

Were these bees determined genetically to be AHB or just behaviorally? All man bees are not africanized. Was the man allergic to bees? If so,AHB wasn't the cause. Bee stings in general were.

buzzbee

It appears that there were AHB genetics,however the situation probably would have been no better with europeans in the same situation. It was a tragic and sad occurrence,none the less.

ArmucheeBee

They sent the bees to UF to be analyzed by their fast track testing.  I am not sure if that is DNA based.  I thought the AHB did produce more honey?  Someone on the forum in the southwest was talking last year about the difference in honey production.
Local news article:  http://www.wctv.tv/APNews/headlines/Elderly_Man_Killed_by_Swarm_of_Bees_in_SW_Georgia_104742769.html

Here is article on UF testing:  http://www.albanyherald.com/home/headlines/105451523.html
Stephen Stewart
2nd Grade Teacher

"You don't need a license to drive a sandwich."  SpongeBob Squarepants

Tommyt

Quote from: ArmucheeBee on October 23, 2010, 03:05:31 PM
http://www.wctv.tv/APNews/headlines/Elderly_Man_Killed_by_Swarm_of_Bees_in_SW_Georgia_104742769.html
Quoted from the above

Africanized honeybees are a hybrid of African and European honeybees. Because of their extremely defensive nature regarding their nest (also referred to as a colony or hive), they are sometimes called "killer bees." Large numbers of them sometimes sting people or livestock with little provocation

I though when you cross them they mello out ??
"Not everything found on the internet is accurate"
Abraham Lincoln

rast

 The FABIS test is basically a measurement test, particularly of the wings. It is not a DNA test.
AHB's do not make as much honey due to their nature of swarming often.
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
    --Paramahansa Yogananda

AllenF

I would like to see a DNA comparison breakdown of the Albany bees to see just how African they were.   Compare them with true AFB and European bees.   Then get the DNA of other feral hives in the Albany area and compare them. 

rast

 Tommyt "I though when you cross them they mello out ??"

When a European queen mated with a European drone (pick your bee genetics) is successfully introduced into an AHB hive it will mello when all the bees have been replaced with new bees from the new queen.
The downside is the AHB drones that hatched can mate with European queens and the temperance of some of that queen's daughters will be towards AHB.
Every beekeeper in the Southeast needs to educate themselves on the facts of AHB so in turn they can speak intelligently to non beekeepers when asked.  
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
    --Paramahansa Yogananda

bugleman

Everone in AHB area should read Dr Dewey Caron's book, "Africanized Bees in the Americas".

It is very educational in how to deal with them and thier responses and genetic predispositions.

fish_stix

Most would do better with a book on "common sense." If you have a really hot hive, collect 50 sample bees. Requeen! If they're really, really hot, kill the dang hive. Then send the samples off for testing. If you requeen you will continue to have AHB for several weeks. If you kill them you solve your immediate problem and you help the poor newbie down the street whose virgins would have mated with AHB drones. The idea is to get them out of YOUR hives, plain and simple. I live in an AHB area. I work in shorts and tee shirt and don't plan to go formal. I have yet to have to kill a hive; we have requeened some mean hives; end of problem. If you start out to work your bees and they come out after you by hundreds you may have AHB. If you get 6 stings from a hive it's not AHB! You only have two options; learn to handle the problem or get out of beekeeping. No whining allowed!

hardwood

Amen fish! I do a ton of removals and have only come across one colony that I would even consider to be "Africanized" 60-70 stings in a minute or so. They didn't make it back to the rehab yard but the sister colony only 10 or so feet away was as gentle as ever.

Don't ever forget that the queen is not the only one to carry the genetics...the drones may do even more to spread the "nasty".

Scott
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

tecumseh

more government paranoia followed by some excess regulation buggeyman... and just in time for Halloween. 

since the government is US, which of your fellow citizens do your really fear?

and thank ya' fish stix for your refreshing, common sense and pragmatic approach.

the fabis score is more like a statistical computation (based on many parts) that produces a number that appears to be logrithimic in scope (a bit like the Richter scale with each number being a 10X factor of the prior number).  If I remember correctly the scale runs from 8 to 11 with 9 being the line in the sand between european and hybridized honeybees.
I am 'the panther that passes in the night'... tecumseh.

ArmucheeBee

Avian flu was the "reason" Georgia now makes it "illegal" to sell chickens at trade day or flea markets.  Call it paranoia but it will happen.  Just another way to produce revenue.  I like being able to keep bees in my backyard without someone looking over my shoulder.  I fear all my fellow citizens, as you are close to Oklahoma City, you might know something about that?
Stephen Stewart
2nd Grade Teacher

"You don't need a license to drive a sandwich."  SpongeBob Squarepants

AllenF

When did Georgia crack down on chicken sales?   I didn't know about it nor a bunch of other folks.  The market bulletin is still full of chickens.   But I know what you are talking about with the government.   Right now state law says that you can keep bees anywhere you want.   Period.  No city can outlaw or regulate them.   I see that changing soon.