Subject: Re: Yellow Jacket control

From: [email-masked] (H M McCabe (Harold))
Date: 26 Jul 1995 14:51:42 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, Steve Bambara <[email-masked]> writes:
>     One thing to take note of is that these recommendations are not 
> universal.  Traps do not work in the Eastern US.  In addition, just 
> because a trap catches the target insect, does not mean that there is 
> any "control"  Insects may be attracted into an area, or the amount 
> trapped (though it may seem significant to you) may be a fraction of the 
> population.  If you were bothered by 75 yellow jackets instead of 100, 
> would you consider that a success?
> Stephen Bambara
> Raleigh, NC
> 
> 

Why would the trap fail to work in the Eastern US?

-- 
Harold McCabe
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I do not speak for Ford.  Everything above this line is my opinion.
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From: Steve Bambara <[email-masked]>
Date: 27 Jul 1995 12:31:12 GMT

>Why would the trap fail to work in the Eastern US?
Harold,
	That is a great question, for which we do not have the answer.  I have tested several designs of yellow jacket traps over the years (I'm not the only one) with poor results.  Traps may catch 3-4 adults per week at best compared to reports of hundreds (I'd like to see that!) claimed in the West.
	One suggestion is that we have a different race.  Someone should do some DNA comparisons. Perhaps humidity plays a part in volatility of attractants?  Who knows?
	The second point is comparable to the Japanese beetle trap situation.  Sure you catch hundreds of the buggers, but are you really controling anything in your yard?  Japanese beetle traps are most effective when you set your trap in your NEIGHBOR'S yard.  :)
Stephen Bambara
Raleigh, NC

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From: [email-masked] (Andy Nachbaur)
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 19:04:00 GMT

*The OLd Drone found this road kill on the internet highway.....
It may seem outlandish to many but it is a lot closer to the way
it will bee or is right now. I have visited with several beekeepers
who did not welcome the "Killer" bees into their bee yards but have
found that they can live with them and have actually found them useful
in their beekeeping operations. One of them just this week, a Texas
beekeeper with 4,000+ hives in California for the almonds, told me how
the F1 or first cross of these bees are very productive and since he can
not control the drones whom mate with his virgin queens anyway this is
good news to any commercial beekeepers who rears his own queens as he
has done for years. Another beekeeper in Arizona who I have reported on
before has found the extortionary brood rearing capacity of these bees to
be very beneficial in making up nucs using his own queens which in time
will also be F1's. He makes up 4 or 5 divides from each Afro swarm,
necessary to keep them in a hive anyway, and requeens these with his
own queens.

                                 ttul Andy-

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"Africanized" Bees Equal Protection for Bees

   As we WELCOME "Africanized" Bees or Brazilian-African bees, after
   their long journey from South America, we should try to remember if in
   the past we have had established bee colony in or near our home.
   Africanized bees, like all other bees, have enough common sense to
   save energy, not having to look for a new home if there are some that
   had been used before by other colonies. Otherwise we welcome them to
   aid us "freely" in our economy as effective pollinators.

   The various levels of anxiety towards and against the
   Brazilian-African bees will soon die out as we begin to adjust our
   attitude and accept them as positive contributors to our agriculture
   and the bee-keeping industry. In Brazil from where they travelled
   Northwards, they accomplished what they were intended to do, "improve"
   on the bee-keeping industry. As they approached and passed through
   various regions and countries people panicked. But as the public got
   to know them better, they stopped being such " a big deal" but good
   bees. They became just as bees as some other bees that need the same
   and equal protection under the Laws and Regulations of the Department
   of Agriculture.

   As they improved on the Brazilian bee-keeping industry, they are
   expected to improve on ours, and also on our crop pollination to
   increase production. They will interbreed and develop sustainable and
   improved populations, with higher resistance to diseases, parasites
   and predators, including humans, otherwise they are just as bees as
   any other bees and should not be used as an excuse to eliminate
   migrating bee colonies. Besides, they are not excessively vicious when
   they are just resting in a swarm before they move further on in search
   of appropriate breeding sites. Once they settle, they have all the
   rights to defend their colonies.

   We better rather open our eyes and be more aware of our immediate
   environment and avoid providing them with opportunity to settle where
   they could cause trouble. Just as we can avoid other insects and
   animals from becoming pests by making sure that we do not make
   available to them what they need to survive and breed, we can watch
   out for situations likely to attract bees in general, and
   Brazilian-African bees in particular.

   This African is happy to use any honey he can harvest from your home,
   if you don't take precautions to prevent colonization. Don't make a
   bee hive of your home. Modify structures that might be attractive to
   bees.

   They will provide excellent service away from residential areas. So if
   they swarm in residential areas, we should give them a chance to move
   on. If they decide to share our homes then we can do something about
   the colony. Being cautious in bee colony destruction will help
   establish the improved bee variety sooner. After all, sooner or later
   they will have to establish.

   We may get away with destroying innocent crickets, spiders, ground
   beetles and other non-pest populations, but we will be doing ourselves
   a disservice in trying to eradicate Africanized bees.

   "Africanized" honey bees, in my view, means good bees that can survive
   independently and pollinate naturally. They don't have to be
   domesticated and manipulated by man in order for them to do their job,
   and they may even survive the overuse or abuse of toxic chemicals that
   has necessitated the domestication of other bees for pollination. More
   important, any species that survives better than others in diverse
   environments must have positive qualities that could benefit the
   environment in general. They are definitely not "primitive", compared
   to their "civilized" cousins, the "Europeanized" honey bees.

   The word "Africanized" means being toughened by problems and ready to
   survive. The Brazilian-African bees are more aggressive, but not
   unreasonably so, in the defence of their colonies, resulting in the
   unfortunate death of a number of people. We should sympathize both
   with the bees and their victims. The bees, in most cases, reacted to
   lawn mowers and other vibration-creating machinery. They might have
   experienced killer pesticides in the past resulting from such
   vibrations from spray equipment as they moved on their way North from
   their release points in Brazil.

   We should not treat these bees as if they are the Fayes in Singapore,
   bringing destructive behavior. These bees are here to help and they
   will help, but should they be abused, will defend themselves. We have
   already seen that they have learned that the sound of small motors
   means danger of chemical poisoning, so they counter attack.

   The Brazilian-African bees are going to prove that they are necessary
   for their pollination activities. They are not going to be pests for
   our farmers who need them and the public in general after we adjust to
   them. They are instead going to release the farmers from the need to
   raise bees. They are going to be independent and effective bees. They
   will improve our agricultural production in the valleys and the
   apples, pears and other crops in higher elevations will produce more
   due to the increased and effective pollination by the Africanized bee.
   Then we will thank the Brazilian-African bees for Africanizing our
   bees.

   Be aware of your immediate environment. Take care of such things as
   broken drain pipes on your property. You would also be avoiding
   breeding of large cockroach population. Africanized, like African bees
   , prefer higher levels to nest, such as on trees, but in the absence
   of higher level sites, they will take any suitable ground sites.
     _________________________________________________________________

   Eco-Care Management Strategies
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 þ QMPro 1.53 þ Oh, no! Not ANOTHER learning experience!

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From: [email-masked] (Andy Nachbaur)
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 19:04:00 GMT

ttul Andy-