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SIERRA VISTA — The buzz about bee season this year is that it will be an active one.
“We have had a lot of spring and winter rains. The more plants, weeds and flowers there are, the more food there is for the bees,” said Mike Smith, manager of Bug Wiser Exterminating in Sierra Vista.
Following a two- to three-month winter hiatus, bees begin their spring activities.
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“After it stays warm for about two weeks, flowers will bud and things start to green up. That’s when the bees come out,” said Reed Booth, a bee expert and owner of Killer Bee Honey LLC in Bisbee.
Wild bees in Arizona have all been Africanized.
Since the late 1950s, when biologist Warwick Kerr began experimental cross-breeding between European Bees, and African Queen Bees, the new breed commonly called “Killer Bee,” has been spreading across Central and North America, first appearing in Arizona in 1993.
Some honey producers prefer Killer Bees to European Bees because they are more resistant to disease and produce greater volumes of honey, Booth said.
This hybrid has continued to spread as a result of Killer Bee farming in Brazil.
“Queens lay 1,500 to 2,000 eggs a day. Once the season starts, hives begin to send off swarms every 10 to 15 days,” Booth said.
Africanized bees are more aggressive and territorial than European bees, which is why it is important to take precautions during bee season.
“Go around your house and look for boards — any place where they can get into a crawl space, or opening with a secure area behind it, especially under sheds, and pet houses,” Smith said.
To secure the area around a structure, Smith recommends filling any gaps with gravel as close to the opening as possible.
For small cracks or holes, use a caulk gun to seal open spaces.
“Any hole or crack 1/8-inch wide, or more, needs to be sealed. Bees and hives can live in a space the size of a pencil,” Booth said.
Other prevention techniques can include a bit of spring cleaning.
“Clean up the yard. Eliminate old tires. Bees will live in anything — barbecues, old TVs, cardboard boxes, bird houses. Just keep an eye out,” Booth added.
They are especially attracted to enclosed areas with contained moisture, including irrigation boxes and city water boxes.
Due to their rapid reproduction, bees divide their hive many times per season, sending off 20 to 30 percent of its tribe to make a home elsewhere, Booth said.
“If you see bees all over your fruit tree, they could be home shopping,” he said.
Smith said this situation can be prevented by installing sticky traps.
“Tribes send out scout bees to find a new area. They will get stuck to these traps and can’t go back to the colony to share the news,” he said.
For multiple-acre lots or businesses, Smith recommends 3 1/2-gallon wax-coated traps that stand 8 to 12 feet off the ground.
If a bee problem presents itself on your property, it needs to be taken care of professionally, Booth said.
“Eighty to 90 percent of trouble that people get into is that they have a hive and don’t do anything about it,” he added.
Part of the danger is that hives are often much larger than they seem.
“If you spray the entrace of a hive, you are just hitting the front door,” Booth said.
At the opening of every hive are many guard bees, which can be threatened just by the color of a T-shirt.
“The best thing to do is to get the colony removed,” Smith said. “After it is completely dried up, seal it really well. Once there has been a hive, the scent will remain. A new swarm could see it as a secure place to live.”
Individual bees don’t present much danger, as they are most likely picking up pollen.
If they are threatened, they do show warning signs.
“They hate it when you get in their flight path. If they will attack, they warn you by bouncing off your body repeatedly, sending pheromone signals back to other bees,” Booth said. “If you do get attacked, cover your head and run for cover.”
Herald/Review reporter Fiona de Young can be reached at 515-4682, or by e-mail at fiona.deyoung@svherald.com.
Ezai I. Martinez wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 PM: