Countywide : Plan of Action for Bees’ Arrival OKd

Without fanfare, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an Africanized honeybee action and response plan to deal with the arrival of the notorious creatures. The board unanimously approved the plan without comment.

Public education about ways to live safely with bees is a major thrust of the 27-page plan, which outlines roles for various county agencies in dealing with the bees. It caps about two years of preparation and work, similar to efforts throughout Southern California.

The plan anticipates that private pest-control firms will respond to non-emergency requests to control bee colonies.

Vector control officials--who will be responsible for a large part of the public information campaign--say the aggressive bees can pose safety problems. But with education, people can safely cope with the bees, much like residents already do with rattlesnakes and black widow spiders.

About 20 traps have been set locally to signal the arrival of the bees, which could reach Orange County by next winter. The so-called “killer bees,” which have been the subject of fear since they were accidentally released from a breeding experiment in Brazil in 1957, have already been spotted in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.

What makes the bees more dangerous than the common European honeybee is that they will vigorously defend their hives, experts say. Both honeybees possess virtually the same venom and can only sting once, but Africanized bees are much more likely to swarm and attack if their colonies are disturbed.