Thursday, April 30, 1998

It's a 'killer' bee if ...

As Jeff "You May Be a Redneck" Foxworthy might say if asked how to recognize Africanized or "killer" bees:

If your horse falls over dead with a bunch of insects hovering over it, then those could be "killer" bees.

Of course, it's no joke if your horse has fallen over dead in such a fashion. And Africanized bees, whose presence has been reported here and there in the Abilene area, can inflict serious injury when they attack in swarms. But we're not experiencing an alien invasion of deadly intent, at least not yet.

If you think "killer" bees are around your place, contact your local county agent at the Extension Service. The agent or an Extension entomologist can then obtain a sample and send it to the lab in College Station.

Oh, one other piece of advice about Africanized bees: Don't aggravate them. They don't seem to like that.