| Killer Bees Found Near New Orleans...
ARABI -- Testing from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry revealed a swarm of Africanized bees—more commonly known as “killer bees”—were discovered inside a St. Bernard home in October 2006, Department Commissioner Bob Odum said Friday.
The house in question was located in the 2200 block of Esteban Street in Arabi, Odom said. The contractor hired to knock the home down noticed a high population of aggressive bees living in the structure and contacted a local beekeeper.
After discovering the severity of the problem, the beekeeper notified local mosquito control officials, who treated the area and collected samples to be sent off to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry for positive ID, Odom said.
In response to the positive identification of the bees, Odom said his department would install traps around a perimeter within a half-mile radius of the home.
Odom cautioned this was an isolated incident in the area and said the Agriculture Department has yet to determine if the bees were, in fact, established in this part of the state.
Africanized bees are smaller and more aggressive than European bees that are raised for their honey production. While the venom in Africanized bees carries the same potency as their European cousins, Africanized bees sting in far greater numbers, which can lead to death in some cases. |