Living with bees
Most sting victims are pets. They cannot run.
African and European honey bees are the same species, different races. Living with the African Honey Bee is the UF/IFAS neighbor page. Ellis and Bammer. First Florida record: 2001, near the Port of Tampa. By 2003 they were nesting around Tampa. They have since spread through the southern half of the state and hybridized with local European stock. You cannot eyeball them. European vs African bees is the guard table. This page is how a yard lives with that mix.
Although some humans do get stung by African bees every year, most sting victims are pets and domestic animals because they are unable to escape tethering, corrals, kennels, etc. while being attacked.
Look before you tie the dog
Living with the African Honey Bee: listen for buzzing. Watch bees going in and out. Enter garages, sheds, grills, and old cars slowly. Check before a mower, blower, or chain saw. Check before you tether or pen an animal. Never disturb a swarm or a colony. Established nests are more defensive than a hanging cluster. swarming is the stay-back cluster. hive removal is the owner hire page.
Bee-proof the property. Living with the African Honey Bee points at Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens. Close the cavities so a feral colony does not move into a wall. It is an ongoing check, not a one-weekend caulk job. Exterior caulk on a gap a bee can use. A live nest is a listed operator, not a caulk job. Get this.
A hot box is a queen job
Living with the African Honey Bee: if the colony is hot, requeen. That is how a registered yard stays on the European side of the hybrid map. A mated queen for a registered yard that is actually replacing her, not a cluster on a fence. Get this. queen management is the year-job page for that mark.
This page does not sell a spray can. Registered beekeepers on the Living with the African Honey Bee table may take a live colony or swarm and may not use pesticides to do it. Killing the nest is still pest control.
Are the managed boxes in my neighbor's yard African?
Living with the African Honey Bee: keepers who follow the BMRs are not keeping African honey bees. Ask if they are registered. Inspectors already walk those yards.
Why start with the dog run?
Most sting victims on this paper are pets that cannot leave a tether, corral, or kennel. Look for flight before you tie anything out.
Sources
- Living with the African Honey Bee. Ellis and Bammer. Tampa 2001. Pets. BMRs. Requeen.
- Bee-Proofing for Florida Citizens. O'Malley, Ellis, and Neal. Close the cavities.
- Differences Between European and African Honey Bees. The defense table. Same venom. More guards.