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	Vol.6, No 131, July 29, 1999
	Killer Bees hit L.B. By Hilary Strickland Summer Forty-Niner For many years the media has been sensationalizing killer bees’ impending arrival in North America. Killer bees have arrived in Southern California, but the reason for their migration has not been fully addressed. The African bees’ migration is a search for suitable habitat said Dr. David Headrick, professor of fruit science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The bees have been overpopulating South and Central America and last month three killer-bee hives were found in North Long Beach.  "If three hives were found, then there must be more hives they haven’t found yet," said Headrick. The world market for bees wax is dominated by African Bees’ wax, Headrick said. This has resulted in the importation and experimentation of cross breading of bees on this hemisphere. "Bees wax is used in cosmetics, to make candles and in some foods, and African bees produce a higher quality wax than European bees," Headrick said. In 1957, a Brazilian scientist named Eduardo Kane imported African honey bees into Brazil with the intent to cross breed African and European bees. Kane wanted to breed a less aggressive bee that would yield more honey and better bees wax. Kane’s experiment went awry when an assistant mistakenly released four to seven African queen bees. The queen bees along with several worker bees went out to establish their own hives. This is referred to as swarming. "African bees swarm five to seven times throughout the year," Headrick said. "African bees reproduce more often than European bees and there are more of them." The African bee was given that name, killer bee, because of its aggressive nature. In Africa, there are more birds and insects that eat bees. The African bees are profoundly more aggressive than European bees because they have more predators to protect themselves against. "You’d be aggressive too if you were constantly on your guard against predators," Headrick said. In contrast, bears are the European bees’ only main predators. The result of having only one predator, who happens to hibernate most of the year, is a docile European bee. The sting from an African bee is no more harmful than the sting of a European bee, Headrick said. The danger usually occurs when many bees ally to fend off a trespasser. Headrick advises people to stay away from all bee hives and to keep their children and pets clear of the hives.		Killer bees hit LB Worker denied release Korean language class to be offered this fall MTV reality show come to L.B. 'Runaway Bride' is no pretty woman Close encounters of the 'Muppet' kind Limp Bizkit without jam Treasures of Russia Summer 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE