As a Tucson a native you and most everyone else knows that when April hits it the start of bee season. Unfortunately bee season is supposed to be worse this year than the previous years. If you have received our newsletter then you know what kind of bees live in Arizona and how to avoid them. if you haven’t read or received our newsletter you can find it on our blog’s main homepage under the Newsletter column under April 2008. There was a recent article in the Tucson Citizen regarding bee season too:

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The buzz on the street is that this will be a record year for bees.

Area bees are on the move and keeping bee removal firms busy.

“This is the worst year I’ve ever seen in my 40-year beekeeping career,” said Tom Martin, president of AAA Africanized Bee Removal Specialists in Tucson.

The university-area home of David Yetman, a self-proclaimed “experienced desert rat” and the host of the PBS television show “The Desert Speaks,” was invaded by bees this week.

It started with a handful of bees flying out of a tiny crack in the edge of his porch roof. By the next afternoon, swarming bees formed a cluster about the size of half a basketball, Yetman said.

A beekeeper came and smoked the bees, Yetman said. And the queen, which caused most of the bees to swarm around the house, was removed.

“Within 24 hours, we went from 10 bees hanging around a hole to a swarm of thousands,” he said. “It caused us to use alternate access to our house, but it did act as a burglar deterrent.”

This is just the beginning for major swarming activity, said Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, research leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson.

Bees swarm when an established colony grows too large and a group of bees breaks off to start a new one, she said. This normally occurs in the spring here, but can repeat in late summer after strong monsoon rains.

Pollen and nectar from blooming citrus, mesquite and brittlebush have provided the food to allow bee populations to expand, DeGrandi-Hoffman said.

“It’s a really good year for flowering plants and that is usually what drives good years for swarming,” she said.

“The bee populations are building and the swarming is just starting. Everything is lining up for populations and colonies to get bigger.”

Colonies sense they are approaching capacity and develop virgin queens. After the first new virgin queen emerges, the old queen and several thousand worker bees leave the colony to start a new one, she said.

The swarm of displaced bees typically stays within two miles of its original site.

Swarming bees do not show nest defensive behavior and are less likely to bother people or animals, she said.

Arizona’s feral bee population is Africanized, however, and chances are good that swarming bees are of that aggressive variety, DeGrandi-Hoffman said.

Problems arise when the swarming colony, led by scout bees, selects a new home close to humans or animals, she said.

“If they find a nest site in the wall of your house or carport overhang, they will be defensive. That nest needs to be removed professionally.

“If you stay away from the actual nesting site, they are not going to go out of their way to defend it and try to sting you,” she said. “Honeybees are a lot like other sorts of things we have in the desert. Be aware of them, know not to touch them or try to get a rise out of them.”

Attacking bees have injured on average three people in Tucson each of the past three years, and have killed three people in rural areas of southeastern Arizona.

Bee removal experts try to kill the swarming bees before they move into an opening in a home, said Martin, whose business is booming responding to customer calls this swarming season.

A colony of thousands of bees can move into its new home in a matter of minutes, he said.

When a colony selects a hollow cavity in a house, bees mark it with a scent that is long lasting and will attract other colonies to the site unless it is removed, Martin said.

While swarming bees may inconvenience or even endanger humans, it is good for the species, DeGrandi-Hoffman said.

And Arizona, as opposed to other parts of the country, has not been affected by a disorder killing off huge numbers of bees, she said.

“Only very healthy colonies swarm, and the fact we see swarming bodes well for the health of the colonies.”"

Despite there being a bunch of bee that could possibly attack you there are several things you can do if attacked:

*The best advice is to avoid bees, especially in large numbers.

*If you do get chased by bees, you want to get inside an enclosed structure, like a house or car, as soon as possible.

Don’t worry about the few bees that will come inside with you. Most will be left outside.

*If you cannot reach shelter, run. You will be able to outrun bees and will lose them within a quarter-mile.

*If you are stung, remove the stingers as quickly as possible. Scraping the skin with a credit card or smooth object works well. The stingers contain a protein-based venom that can cause an immune system response in the human body.

*If you are allergic to bee stings or sustain a large number of stings, seek medical attention right away.

Swelling in the area of a sting is normal. Swelling in other areas or feeling faint from stings could mean you are having a reaction and should seek medical attention.

*Put ice on sting sites. Commercial sprays to relieve itching from stings can help.

Hopefully this spring and summer you don’t encounter any real be problems. Stay safe and smart. If you need bee removal don’t hesitate to call Arizona Pest Control, 520-298-7821.