>Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 17:01:24 -0800 >From: "Suz" <socalsuz@earthlink.net> >Subject: Re: [CH] Re: was Feral Dogs (Squirrels) [snip] > As for bees, I have about 30 rosemary plants, and there are > no less than 100 bees on each of these plants during the day. > Don't know what will happen when the "killer" bees get to this > region, but it's predicted. Your beekeepers either learn to live with them and handle them or go out of business. This bee is more defensive about its home than the european bee. If it was a killer every one in Africa would be dead ;-) Just learn to live with it and it's defensive ways. Yes they can and do kill but not anything like your media and Hollyweird would have you believe. Don't mess with them and don't go near a hive if wearing strong (to a bee) perfume or the weather is very hot. I regulary check on the hive in my oak tree and work on my plants under it. I always check on hive activity first and if there are a lot of bees fanning the entrance I go elsewhere. If you do get stung near a hive move away as fast as you can because the attack signal just went up. Standing around admiring the bees sting is not a good idea. I don't think there is a difference in honey production efficiency and they sure do the job in pollination. So from the plants point of view there will be no difference ;-) They are more prone to swarm and will settle for less accommodating sites than the european bee as well which accounts for the fast spread. I believe this is a fact of life you will just have to get used to since there is no way of stopping them. Peter -- Peter Moss "Well, let's just say, 'if your VCR is still blinking 12:00, you don't want Linux'". - Bruce Perens