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Presents tips on dealing with animal attacks, environmental hazards and natural disasters in Texas. Swarm of killer bees; Threat caused by a tornado; Heatstroke; Treatment for injuries caused by cacti.

Reports on the invasion of the U.S. by killer bees, also known as Africanized bees, as of June 2002. Nature of the killer bees; Danger imposed by killer bee invasion; Ways to control or eliminate killer bees. INSET: 2,997... 2,998... 2,999.

This article details how Africanized killer bees migrated to the U.S. The saga started in Brazil with a campaign to boost honey production. Geneticist Warwick Kerr, in 1956, at the government's request, travelled to South Africa and brought back 63 queen bees. The aim was to mate them with European stock to create a hybrid that would combine the best features of both breeds. Bees are notoriously vicious and volatile, but he believed that their fiery nature could be diluted by an injection of European docility. Some Africanized queens, along with platoons of workers, escaped. African Bees have honed their lethal skills over millions of years-- a defence mechanism against honey-thieving predators, including man. Finally, in 1990, the relentless squadrons swept into U.S. territory.

Relates the efforts of Brazil's beekeepers to deal with the transition from the European honeybee (EHB) to the Africanized honeybee (AHB). How AHBs came to Rio Claro, Brazil in the 1950's; Northward expansion; AHB characteristics; AHBs' arrival in the United States; Research into effects of AHBs' presence in the U.S.; Predictions of AHBs' northernmost range; Intensity of AHBs' attack; Impact of AHBs' on U.S. bee and honey industries; Examples of aggressive bees; Bee Regulated Zone (BRZ); Interviews.

Discusses the potential dangers that disease-carrying insects pose to the United States in the summer of 2000. Encephalitis carried by mosquitoes; Lyme disease and deer ticks; Deaths caused by killer bees; Nuisance of black flies.

Reports on the sensationalization of news about Africanized honeybees in the U.S. Origin of the term "killer bees"; Migration of the U.S. border into Hidalgo, Texas; Number of confirmed killer bee swarm sightings; Speculation that the bees will stop travelling around the Mason-Dixon Line.

Gives information on killer bees--also known as Africanized honeybees. Their arrival in Blythe, California; How the insects have traveled up to 300 miles a year since their accidental release in 1957 in Brazil; Caution against overreacting to their killer reputation.

The article reports on the Africanized bees which has been advancing from South America toward North America known for being ferocious and a danger to people who get near them. The bees poses a threat to the agriculture industry according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Africanized bees are harder to manage and tend to produce less honey. It originated in Brazil in 1957. The bees produced less honey maybe of its origin of the ancestral African bees.

The article offers information on how to block the attack of the Brazilian bees. A report released by the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences recommends setting up an anti-bee Maginot Line throughout the bottleneck of Central America. Historically, it says that Brazilian geneticist Warwick Kerr was the man who loosed the bee in 1956, after 26 African bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) swarms, which he used to breed an ideal honeybee, escaped and mated with native bees.

Focuses on several invasive species in the U.S. Africanized honeybees; Long-horned beetles; Zebra mussels.

Reveals the spread of killer bees in the United States. Percentage of bees that exhibit Africanized genes; Cases of fatal attacks from killer bees; Advice for people attacked by Africanized bees.

Reports on United States municipalities' plan to ban beekeeping in urban areas. Concern over the infiltration of domestic honey bee colonies; Migration of Africanized bees toward California; Damages caused by Africanized bees towards humans and animals; Professor of entomology at the University of California in Davis, Norm Gary's warning against banning beekeeping; Consequences of banning beekeeping in the country.

Highlights the comments of Roger Morse, a beekeeper and entomologist at Cornell University, regarding the underlying attitude problem of the reaction to the impending invasion of the killer bees into the U.S. Destruction of Africanized bees coming to Texas from Mexico by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Background on the killer bee designation for the hybrid offspring of two races of the familiar old honeybee, Apis mellifera; Advantage of the Africanized bees bring to beekeepers in southern states; Comparison with European honeybees.

Reports on the proliferation of killer bee population in the United States. History of the introduction of the African bee species in the United States; Toxicity of the venom from the sting of the bees; Physiology of the bees; Spread of the bees in the United States; Guidelines in preventing attacks of bees.

The article offers information on the hybrid bees species Africanized honeybee that was formed as a result of mating between local bees in Africa and imported honeybees from Africa, it is mentioned that the hybrid species has found to be dangerous and has moved to the U.S. and Mexico.

This article presents several news briefs related to western cities and towns in the United States. Park City, Utah, has abandoned its ski-free policy for those over 70. According to African bee expert Carol Sutherland, the most dangerous thing about killer bees is that they operate as a pack of predators. The local officials in Tombstone, Arizona, have built a high school costing $6.8 million. And now they need an improved access road to accommodate buses, but they have run out of money. A London, England-based company, Pokershare.com, is offering $100,000 to the town of Bluff for changing its name to Pokershare.com. Lloyd Thorson, a former landscape architect in Washington, will turn 80 on January 14, 2006, and he is still active as a farmer.

Some bees rely on olfactory spying to capitalize on other bees' hard work, researchers report. When certain bees find food, they mark the trail for their nest mates by leaving odiferous chemicals on leaves and other stopover points during the flight home. In an outdoor laboratory setup, James C. Nieh of the University of California, San Diego and his colleagues examined foraging behavior of an aggressive Brazilian bee, the stingless Trigona spinipes. Its foragers spy on another Brazilian stingless species, Melipona rufiventris, the researchers report in the August 7 Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. When the researchers monitored T. spinipes bees where they habitually fed, the insects paid attention to scent marks of their nest mates and generally ignored marks left by M. rufiventris. This chemical espionage can pay off. In six trials, T. spinipes bees attacked foraging M. rufiventris bees and took over their food. Such spying clashes might have pushed bees to evolve an alternative to scent trails, Nieh speculates.

Presents several types of insects and animals causing problems in various parts of the United States. Cottontail rabbits in Seal Beach, California which are overrunning a retirement community; Africanized honeybees (killer bees) in Las Vegas, Nevada which are attacking people and animals; Swarms of flies in Naples, New York covering ceilings and doors.

Focuses on the Africanized honey bees (AHB) in the United States. Information on the first multiple stinging incidence in the country; Areas where AHB colonized; Clinical manifestations of venom toxicity.

Reports on the discovery of more Africanized honey bees, also known as `killer bees,' making the entire county of Fallbrook, California infested. Presence of the bees in the San Diego area since 1996.

Reports that the United States Forest Service has posted on the Internet entomologist Eric Erickson's article regarding Africanized honey bees. Threats the bees pose on wildfire firefighters; Origins of the bees; Spread of their habitat.

Reports on the presence of Africanized bees in the U.S. Introduction of the bees from Brazil; Expected spreading of the bees to various states; Measures suggested to counteract their attack.

Reveals that the first swarm of African bees known to have entered US airspace have been captured and destroyed in southern Texas. More bees due to arrive; Bees found to be less interesting than scientists hoped.

Focuses on the development of a solar-powered semiconductor chip to be glued to the thorax of Africanized bees in the U.S. Threats posed by the bees to the beekeeping industry; Transmission of infrared signals; Use of the chips to study the mating and foraging habits of Africanized bees.

Focuses on the common methods used in identifying African honeybees from other bees in the U.S. Measurement of the length of their wings; Examination on the relative amount of hydrocarbons found in beeswax; Determination of the hydrocarbon patterns in honeybees.

Reports on the increase in killer bees in Texas. Death resulting from killer-bee attack; Source of killer bees; Efforts of the government to prevent spread of killer bees in other states; Projected route of the bees.

Highlights research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science suggesting that killer bees can withstand 32 degrees Fahrenheit for almost three months and can survive in snow for more that a week. Possibility that killer bees could settle throughout most of the U.S. and southern Canada; Irritable nature of killer bees.

Reports on science related news. Presence of killer bees in California; Presence of mosquito in shuttle flight.

Reports that Engineman Second Class Richard Adolph has been awarded the US Navy-Marine Corps Medal for saving his crewmates from an enraged swarm of killer bees in Panama.

Offers information about Africanized bees that have invaded the United States, nicknamed killer bees. Number of people they have killed in Mexico, Central America and South America; States where they are now found; Their resemblance to common honeybees; How to escape from the bees; Their sensitivity to cold weather. INSET: Never pull stingers out.

Reports that the US Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of Africanized honeybees, known as ,`killer bees', in Jucumba in eastern San Diego, California.

Reports on the growing presence of Africanized honeybees in the United States. Features of the book `Killer Bees: The Africanized Honey Bee in the Americas,' by Simon Fraser; History of the honeybees in the United States; Safety guidelines.

The article discusses the introduction and spread of non-native pest species in the U.S. The author notes that non-native species, such as fire ants, have caused widespread economic damage and disruptions to both life and commerce across the U.S. Topics include the spread of Africanized honeybees and fire ants and information on several non-native pests, such as land planarians, brown marmorated stinkbugs, and bean plataspids.