Bees kill 3 dogs, attack woman

Bees kill 3 dogs, attack woman

RIVIERA BEACH, FL - A 70-year-old woman was injured and three dogs were killed after a swarm of bees attacked a neighborhood in South Florida.

Authorities say crews removed 50 pounds of honeycomb and contained the hive from the side of a home in Palm Beach County after the attack.

The bees swarmed Nancy Hill and her two dogs. Hill was treated at a hospital where doctors removed the multiple stingers, but the dogs died. The bees also attacked two other dogs in the neighborhood. One of those died and the other was injured.

Lab tests should determine whether the bees were Africanized bees, also known as "killer bees."

"Killer bees" or Africanized honeybees, are similar to European honeybees except they have a gene that makes them more aggressive. The sting is the same in both sets of bees and that there is no poison or venom. What makes them deadly is their aggressive nature.

Africanized bees perceive any disturbance of their nest as a threat, so they'll chase any animal or person that disturbs their home for as much as a quarter of a mile. Their persistence is legendary, so much so that government brochures with advisories on Africanized honeybees urge people to run, with upper case letters and exclamation points, to a safe area.

John Capinera, chairman of the University of Florida's entomology department, said people should assume they are dealing with an Africanized bee if the insect is acting aggressively.

PRESENT GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF AHB (KILLER BEES) IN FLORIDA

"Most times, bees are fairly docile," Mr. Capinera said. "Africanized bees, if they are disturbed, swarm out in large numbers and attack."

Experts say they have been in Florida since 2002. The state has about 500 traps all around Florida to monitor the bees.

An Okeechobee County a man died in April after being stung more than 100 times by bees that officials think were Africanized honey bees. Medical officials say he had a fatal reaction to the bee stings. It was reported as the first death in Florida caused by the aggressive bees, although there have been at least 17 deaths caused by the bees across the United States since 1990.

They have killed roughly 1,000 people in the Americas since the bees' ancestors escaped from a Brazilian lab in 1957.

 Economically, Africanized bees are less beneficial. They don't produce as much honey, they pollinate crops less efficiently and their temper makes them much more difficult to maintain.