Africanized Honey Bee Training

[Frontier-Lawn]

Attached is a pdf i got in a email from UF. on the Africanized Honey Bee Training classs for sarasota county.

[Ric]

Attached is a pdf i got in a email from UF. on the Africanized Honey Bee Training classs for sarasota county.

David

The best part of that training is TO LEARN TO STAY AWAY FROM AFRICANIZED HONEY BEES. However they also do cover some exotic Snakes that are now present in our environment. Once again it is best to stay away and let a pro handle the problem.

Your Tax Stamp Roundup License in no way qualifies you to fool with them. Even My commercial Certification and Bee suit isn't enough qualification to mess with African Bees. It is best to have a professional Bee Keeper who specializes in them to take care of the Problem. Many times a construction crew must come in and tear out walls to get to the Colony's Honey left behind walls.

[Ric]

Yo

I tried to add this in Edit but couldn't


Oops in Edit: I have the names of a couple of Bee Keepers who specialize in African Bees. They actually save the colony but kill the queen and convert them into European Honey Bees. They use special vacuums and suck up all the bees. Then the Bees are put in a special hive where the queen goes automatic to a separate chamber. Once the Queen is gone and a European Queen is replaced, the colony loses most of it's aggressive behavior. New brood are now all European Honey Bees and the colony goes on to produce Honey and help with plant pollination. I don't remember the seminar telling all of this, but I did get a quick lesson from a real Bee Keeper.

[Ruben Rocha]

Good info Ric. I never knew those facts about the African bees.
But anyway I have a old newsletter from the local extension office about African bees and the dangers. I give a copy to any customers I have when I discover a bee hive on the property.
Pretty much it explains how a hive can become africanized and the dangers.

I have enough problems with yellow jackets let alone bees.

[Ric]

Ruben

The whole propose of this seminar is to educate people to stay away from treating African Bees. The only way to tell them apart is when they attack you.

African Bees are VERY AGGRASIVE. They will chase an intruder for miles. Don't jump in water because they will actually wait for you to come up to Breath. About the best way to get away is to jump in a car and drive as fast as you can to the nearest hospital. Of course open the windows when you get a few miles away. African Bees have killed more than a few people.

I have an occasional Beer with a retired Bee Keeper. While I will tease him about his Big Cowboy Hat and no cattle, he is very interesting to talk too. I wish I could remember all the different types of honey there are. Right now they are collecting Orange Blossom Honey which is a big seller. But Bakers Honey comes from the Palomento bushes that everyone hates so much. It is a thick dark honey that holds it's flavor. BTW this guy never fooled with African Bees and retired because of them. But another Bee Keeper I know does and I saw his Equipment as he gave me the 50 Cent lecture. BTW certified Bee Keeper in Florida can Legally apply insecticides in some cases as part of there license.

BTW I have the bee suit and can Legally treat African Bees. BUT I DON'T. While I have done it and got lucky, I will not tell anyone how to do it. Call the guy that is the Pro and that is not me in this case.

[Ruben Rocha]

Oh I agree. Like I said in my post most customers are not concerned that they have a beehive. Which I see a lot in places like the water meter or openings on the siding in the house. That is when I give them the flyer and tell them Get a pro.
I have had a few instances with yellow jackets and let me tell you they don't give up either.
And actually the only real way to determine a African bee is I believe with testing. even a microscope does not tell the truth.

So today I treat all bees as African bees and i have even refused to cut areas where I see bees.
Some people may see this as no big deal. But just go through one time with the little bastards and ???