Rainfall may increase bee populations

The pitter-patter of rainfall may lead to the buzz of bees.

Recent rains have given this year’s killer bee population in the Phoenix area a jump start, say exterminators in that city, and one Somerton beekeeper says the rains could increase bee swarms in the Yuma area.

Chris Pool, Somerton, recently sold his hives of bees to Charles "Chuck " Emmons of Wellton.

"When the desert wildflowers bloom after we've had the rains, the blooms provide food - pollen - for the bees," said Chris Pool, who recently sold his bee hives.

"The verbena (purple desert flowers) lure the bees, and next will be citrus, later salt cedar, palo verde, mesquite, followed by alfalfa and pima cotton.

"The blooms do attract the Africanized bees, but we haven't seen any of them. There is a shortage of honey bees, however," Pool said.

The killer bees, which arrived in the Yuma area in the 1990s, are a "thing of the past," said Lance Miller, pest control applicator at Chief Pest Control in Yuma.

"As they migrate, they cross-breed with the local bee population, and every time they cross-breed, it takes some of the aggression out of them. As far as here, I don't anticipate any problem with killer bees. In the last three years, I have seen only one swarm of the killer bees from South America. They have not been around for quite awhile. Anyone allergic to honey bees better be on the look out."

But in the Phoenix area over the past two weeks, swarms of bees attacked two people walking their dog in Tempe and two dogs were killed by angry bees in Gilbert.

Dan Armijo, an exterminator in the Phoenix area, said he is seeing an increase in bee calls. He said most bees are not aggressive, unless they are Africanized bees, also known as killer bees.

If their colony is threatened, Africanized bees will attack. "There is no way to tell the difference between bees, so all bees have to be handled with caution," Armijo said.

Maricopa County Vector Control said all observed swarms should be considered Africanized.

Beekeepers say residents should be on the lookout for a lot of bee activity in one area, especially if bees are going in and out of a crack on a garage or house.

Beekeeper Elliot Ginn in the Phoenix area said bees usually will attack only when they feel threatened.

"It is important that people do not bother a bee," he said, "because it’s impossible to know what kind of a bee it is.

"Here in Arizona we have a mixed bee," Ginn said. "They have a little bit of African in them and a little bit of European, so you never know how mean they could be."

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Staff Writers Jennifer Lovell and Pam Smith contributed to this report.