Posted on 09/29/2015 10:31:28 AM PDT by nickcarraway
I used to live in LaFayette where they found the bees. Not everyone in that area is gay.
They are very aggressive in defense of their hive, when out foraging they are just like any other honeybee.
You just have to learn to keep the Africanized hives away from any areas where you are going to be operating any power equipment; (mowers, weed whips, chainsaws, tractors, etc.), otherwise they are very productive little buggers, and like any good capitalist, very protective of the fruits of their labor.
Just remember to suit up completely when working with Africanized hives, (I use Tyvec, yellow chemical resistant coveralls) and a bee hood.
Use black neoprene gloves and tape up the wrists; don’t use leather gloves, for some reason they really HATE leather and they can sting right through it.
An Africanized breed of honeybee queens that escaped from an experimental lab and mixed in with the native Brazilian bee population.
The resulting bees are hybrids
The two charcteristics for which these Africanized bees are known :
#1 They swarm 3-4 times a year ; whereas native bees swarm only once.
#2 When easily riled (loud noise/thunderstorms/rain/etc.) they become aggressive and sting in large multiple numbers; frequently in the hundreds .
Deaths occur from the hundreds of stings (horses, cows , humans , dogs , etc....)
Instead of tracking them, the bee huggers should have been killing them.
They and regular bees dont like anything fuzzey
Don't wear wool, or flannel shirt when around any bees.
They seem to be more aggressive around dark colors .
Most bee equipment is called 'sting resistant', not 'sting proof'.
You are exactly right about use of taping up the glove wrists , and where your pants meet your boots (or use rubber bands).
They don't like other bees? How do they get along sharing that hive?
Amish bees!
Each hive has a queen, and as she goes about laying eggs in the hive, all the bees share this scent .
This scent identifies all the bees in that hive as ' members of the family', and so they all get along.
Enter another bee ,even another 'killer bee' with a different scent, and the hive will attack/kill it.
The aggressivenes ,honey productivity, size of the hive , and frequency of laying eggs is all dependent on the queen , and her scent.
But they what about bees from their own hive? They are all fuzzy.
It's all about the scent , ..unless the other bees are all wearing flannel, then its every bee for itself.
You might be thinking of bumblebees which are fuzzey , but they are solitary, and don't live a hive.
Add in SF illegals problem and I’m thinking of the old Sat. Night killer bees bit
With the alleged deaths of honey bees throughout this country due to mysterious circumstances, these bees should be allowed to roam.............
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