Q: I have some bees in a tree in my front yard, they don’t look like honey bees, so I am wondering if they are killer bees?
A:The one thing that I can assure you is that if they don’t look like honey bees, they aren’t Africanized bees. The normal person with the naked eye cannot tell the difference. They must be DNA tested to discern the difference. In Pottawatomie County, Africanized bees have been found a few years ago, so there is no governmental help in identification.
This would be at the expense of the homeowner, if you want to know. In the spring, it is not uncommon for bees to move around so folks will see them more often in places they have not been seen in the past.
An Africanized bee sting is no different or more potent than your “normal” honey bee.
They just tend to be more aggressive. Normally, if just left alone for a few days, bees will move to a more secluded and permanent site. If they set up somewhere they cannot be tolerated, they can be moved by an experienced bee keeper. If all else fails, they can be destroyed by a pest control operator or labeled insecticide. With as many problems as we have had with our bees living in the United States the last few years and as important as they are to plant pollination, this needs to be a last resort unless they are in a place where the public might be harmed.
For more information, contact the OSU Extension Center, 14001 Acme Road, corner of MacArthur and Acme Road in Shawnee or call 273-7683.
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Q: I have some bees in a tree in my front yard, they don’t look like honey bees, so I am wondering if they are killer bees?
A:The one thing that I can assure you is that if they don’t look like honey bees, they aren’t Africanized bees. The normal person with the naked eye cannot tell the difference. They must be DNA tested to discern the difference. In Pottawatomie County, Africanized bees have been found a few years ago, so there is no governmental help in identification.
This would be at the expense of the homeowner, if you want to know. In the spring, it is not uncommon for bees to move around so folks will see them more often in places they have not been seen in the past.
An Africanized bee sting is no different or more potent than your “normal” honey bee.
They just tend to be more aggressive. Normally, if just left alone for a few days, bees will move to a more secluded and permanent site. If they set up somewhere they cannot be tolerated, they can be moved by an experienced bee keeper. If all else fails, they can be destroyed by a pest control operator or labeled insecticide. With as many problems as we have had with our bees living in the United States the last few years and as important as they are to plant pollination, this needs to be a last resort unless they are in a place where the public might be harmed.
For more information, contact the OSU Extension Center, 14001 Acme Road, corner of MacArthur and Acme Road in Shawnee or call 273-7683.
