killer bees in Utah

[Kurt Bower]

Hive of Africanized bees found in Cedar City

By Mike Stark

Associated Press Writer

Updated: 05/26/2009 01:19:47 PM MDT


A hive of Africanized honey bees has been found in the eaves of a Cedar City home and Utah agriculture officials said Tuesday they want to know if there are more in the area.

The hive has probably been at the Cedar City home for two to three years, according to Larry Lewis, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.

It will be destroyed by a pest control company, he said.

The bees appear to have survived the winter by seeking shelter inside the home's walls. State officials said they don't believe honey bees can survive Utah's freezing temperatures without some kind of protection.

"But if for some reason they are able to find an artificial environment to over-winter, we could see Africanized bees anywhere in the state," Lewis said.

Africanized bees -- sometimes known as "killer bees" -- were confirmed in Washington and Kane counties in February.

Although Africanized bees look like European honey bees, they tend to be more aggressive and swarm more often. But their stings aren't more powerful than other bees'.

Attacks on people and animals have happened in other states but are relatively rare.

Utah officials said there haven't been any problems with bees in southern Utah and they aren't believed to be widespread.

Lewis said the Cedar City couple whose home had the beehive didn't report any stings. They contacted state officials after publicity about Africanized bees in

nearby counties. Lab tests confirmed the hive held Africanized bees, Lewis said.

More than a dozen bee traps are being set up in Iron County to see where else the Africanized bees might have spread.

"We're curious. If there was one (hive) in a home, might there be others?" Lewis said. "We want to know the extent of the migration."

State agriculture officials have said Utah residents should be cautious around bees -- and remember the important role they play in pollinating fruit, vegetables and crops that are part of the state's agriculture economy.

Africanized bees are the result of interbreeding between European honey bees and bees from Africa. They were inadvertently released in Brazil in the 1950s. They were first spotted in Texas in 1990 and have since been found in several other states, including California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.