Hollister
– Test results released this week confirmed that a swarm of bees
found last month in north San Benito County were Africanized
honeybees – a dangerous but rarely deadly pest.
Hollister – Test results released this week confirmed that a swarm of bees found last month in north San Benito County were Africanized honeybees – a dangerous but rarely deadly pest.
A north county property owner found the bees living in an old pump house near Foothill Road. After being stung several times, the property owner called a Prunedale beekeeper to destroy the swarm, San Benito County Agriculture Commissioner Paul Matulich said. Some of the bees were sent to the Monterey County Agriculture Commissioner’s Office, where they tested positive as Africanized Honeybees, Matulich said.
Africanized bees, also known as killer bees, defend their colonies more aggressively than other bees. They are easily disturbed and tend to sting as a group, which can make them dangerous, especially for people allergic to bee stings. Matulich said the bees have also been known to chase humans and animals up to a quarter mile, which is much farther than their gentle European counterparts.
Although Africanized Honeybees have been responsible for dozens of deaths in the United States, Matulich said county residents have no reason to panic.
Matulich said officials from the California Department of Food and Agriculture are planning to survey the area to look for, track and destroy any other Africanized bee swarms found in the county. If more of the bees are found, they will be destroyed immediately, Matulich said.
“There is no need to be worried,” Matulich said Wednesday. “But people should be more alert.”
Matulich said this is the first time Africanized bees have been found in San Benito County.
In appearance, Africanized bees are nearly indistinguishable from the common European honeybee. They also carry the same venom as the European variety. Matulich said the complex testing process on the north county bees took nearly a month to complete. Africanized bees, the result of interbreeding between European and African honeybees in the 1950s, first entered the United States via Texas in 1990. In 1995, Africanized bees made their first appearance in California, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Such bees are known to nest in abandoned vehicles, sheds, old tires, garages and other places, according to the CDFA. Since entering California, the bees have moved north and been sighted in nearly all of the state’s southern counties and even in Fresno and Madera counties, according to the CDFA.
Africanized honeybees have developed a deadly reputation, but experts have said it is at least partially undeserved. In Mexico, 60 deaths have been linked to the bees. In the United States fewer than 15 deaths in the last 23 years have been attributed to Africanized bees, according to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
