All abuzz: As weather warms up, killer bees increase activity throughout valley

Thursday, March 15, 2001 | 11:31 a.m.

Africanized bees are buzzing in the Las Vegas Valley.

As daytime temperatures rise, bee populations increase. So far this year, the bees have proven to be harmless, experts say.

For George Botta, owner of American Pest Control, it has been a busy-bee season. Unseasonably warm temperatures in January brought on the early concerns. The pesticide company on Wednesday destroyed seven swarms across the valley, he said.

"We're getting plenty of action already," Botta said. Since the Africanized bees arrived in Southern Nevada in August of 1999, American Pest Control has responded to 500 calls regarding the insects, which are more aggressive than their European counterparts.

"Spring has sprung for us today," Botta said, pausing between calls from Henderson to the northwestern area of the Las Vegas Valley.

Since swarming bees have been spotted in every corner of the valley, the public should be aware that the insects are active, said Tim Szymanski, public information officer for the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue Unit.

A block of Atlantic Street behind the Showboat Hotel was closed for about 10 minutes Feb. 28 as firefighters killed a swarm of homeless bees that were settling on a resident's wall, Szymanski said.

Swarming bees, or those pollinating plants, are acting on instinct and will not attack, Szymanski said. "I've stuck my arm in the middle of a swarm, and they didn't sting," he said.

Flowering plants would die if bees did not pollinate blossoms, Szymanski said.

Bees will attack if people wander too close to the insects' hives, he said. "It's the swarming season. They are going to be out en masse. They are going to be hungry."

Emergency crews and firefighters are prepared if bees do attack.

Encased in protective clothing, firefighters spray foam made from plain soap and water, onto the swarming bees, Szymanski said. The soapy water suffocates the insects.

All firefighters have received training in responding to bee attacks, Szymanski said. If residents discover bees near their homes, they should call a pest control service. Fire departments will respond if someone comes under attack, he said.

In addition to the bees on the wall, a hive in a tree about 25 feet from the ground was destroyed at San Miguel and Tuffer Lane in the northwest valley about a month ago, said Tom Smigel of the Nevada State Department of Agriculture. State and local firefighters have teamed to help prevent attacks by Africanized bees.

Because the Africanized variety is more aggressive and constructs hives about eight times a year -- European honeybees split hives twice a year -- new bee colonies form more often, he said.

The two varieties of bees are visually identical and cannot be distinguished with the naked eye.

In late January, two dogs were attacked in the backyard of a home in The Lakes along the western edge of Las Vegas, Smigel said.

A 77-year-old woman was stung more than 500 times near Maryland Parkway and U.S. 95 on March 27. In an earlier incident, a 79-year-old man was stung by more than 30 Africanized bees while trying to remove a nest on a wood fence in the northwest valley in February 2000.

The two Las Vegas victims were taken to University Medical Center where emergency room doctors treated them for the stings, said Rick Plummer, UMC spokesman. "There's nothing unique about the treatment," he said.

Keeping the air passage open, giving antihistamines to reduce swelling and counteract the sting are the main courses of treatment, whether the sting is from an Africanized bee or a honeybee, Plummer said.

State officials are keeping a close watch on the bees as they move across the Southwest. Africanized bees escaped from a laboratory in Brazil in the late 1960s and have moved into the United States through Texas and Arizona.