A3B-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, September 7,1985
ITHACA, NY. - When some
honey bees from Brazil, inap
propriately dubbed “killer” bees,
escaped from a ship in upstate
New York last year, they were
carrying deadly mites. Although
the bees have since died, Cornell
University scientists are con
ducting an intensive bee hunt to
determine whether any New York
colonies have become infested with
the dreaded Asian bee mite.
The nasty bees themselves are
not the object of the pursuit since
only worker bees escaped and they
are unable to produce any young.
It’s the deadly mites they carry
that are a potential menace to the
honey bees of our nation and that’s
a threat to the nation’s honey crop
and more than 50 crops dependent
on insect pollination, of which
honey bees are the most efficient,
says a Cornell entomologist, one of
the nation’s leading bee experts.
About a year ago, a freighter
from Brazil docked in Oswego,
New York, and a colony of
Africanized bees, sometimes
called “killer” bees because of
their aggressive behavior, was
discovered thriving on board.
Although the colony and the queen
were destroyed, it is feared that
several bees may have escaped.
Cornell scientists are trying to
determine if any of those bees
jumped ship and carried the
bloodthirsty Asian bee mite,
Varroa jacobsoni, to the mainland.
The scientists are combing a one
mile radius of the Lake Ontario
port, trying to capture every single
honey bee colony in search of
Africanized bees and bee mites.
Within the one-mile radius,
rewards for honey bee colonies are
being offered, and Cornell
scientists are tracking down
colonies by chasing honey bees as
they make “bee lines” for home.
“We do not consider the escape
of the Africanized bees themselves
to be any threat at all,” stresses
Roger Morse, director of the Dyce
Laboratory for Honey Bee Studies
in the New York State College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences at
Cornell. “Our objective is to
determine whether the Africanized
bees made it to any honey bee"
colonies and contaminated them
with the deadly Varroa mites.”
In fact, so-called “killer” bees
are not anything of the sort, Morse
is quick to point out. “They are
certainly nasty little bees but they
are greatly misunderstood,” says
the Cornell expert, one of a few
scientists in the nation with a great
deal of experience with
Africanized bees.
When African bees were tran
sported to Brazil in 1956 for a
research project, some escaped.
Being more dominant than the
gentler native bees, they even
tually “conquered” the queens,
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Killer bees carried mites into upstate New York
thereby “Africanizing” the bee
population. Bees in South America
came to be known, therefore, as
Africanized bees.
Although such bees are as ef
ficient pollinators as the European
bees that inhabit the U.S., they are
often more fierce. Yet, they look
the same and their stings are no
more venomous.
“In fact, the only way we can tell
the difference is by their size;
Africanized bees are about 10
percent smaller,” Morse explains.
In the trophies, these bees have
picked up the slanderous nickname
“killer bees” because they are
easily aroused and sting with only
a little provocation. The
Africanized bees also swarm about
twice as frequently as European
bees, thus they are able to
reproduce and colonize new
territory rapidly.
It’s estimated that the
Africanized bees are migrating
north from Central America at
about 200 miles a year. They are
predicted to enter the U.S. in large
numbers by 1990.
“Their invasion of the U.S. is
inevitable, yet I am not in the least
worried about them being here,
except for the mites they carry and
the fear that so many people have
of them,” says Morse, a member
of the National Advisory Com
mittee of Bee Affairs for the
Animal Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
APHIS is conducting surveys
throughout the nation to hunt down
any Africanized bees or Varroa
bee mites. Morse’s work in Oswego
has been in cooperation with
APHIS officials.
Morse suspects that Africanized
bees in temperate climates will
prove to be much less vicious than
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they are in tropical areas. In
Argentina, for example, where the
climate is similar to that of the
U.S., Africanized bees are hardly
more aggressive than European
bees and the Argentinians have not
reported problems associated with
them. In South Africa, where the
bees come from, there also are no
reported problems. In tropical
Brazil, the bees are undoubtedly
easier to anger and quicker to
sting. Yet beekeepers have learned
to manage their hives very suc
cessfully, Morse points out.
“Evidently, the closer the bees
are to the equator, the more
ferocious they act,” Morse ob
serves.
There also is some evidence that
suggests that “killer” bees would
not survive a winter very well.
The imminent threat, therefore,
is the Asian bee mite. Evidently,
the mites are not deadly to the
Africanized bees but could cripple
and deform honey bees in the U.S.
by feeding on bee pupae, sucking
blood from between adult bee
segments, and by attacking drone
bees that fertilize queen bees.
Thus far, the Cornell scientists
have not yet found any Africanized
bees or Asian bee mites in the
hives that they have examined
from Oswego, but they will con
tinue to monitor the area for the
rest of the summer. APHIS
probably will follow up by sur
veying the five-mile radius of the
port for another five years.
“A potential problem of this
magnitude must be taken very
seriously,” Morse warns. “These
mites have already caused ex
tensive honey bee colony deaths in
more than 35 nations, including
countries in Europe, Asia, South
America, and Africa. It is probably
inevitable that they will make it to
*************************
Preston Twp. Wayne County
EMSON FARMS
MILKING HERD & BRED HEIFER
DISPERSAL
OF REGISTERED HOLSTEINS
-61 HEAD SELL
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,1985
12:00 Noon
A tremendously strong and upstanding group of cows, several in this
herd stand near 60 inches. One of the top herds in Wayne County, this group
is backed by strong production. The dams actually average 20,123 3.7 738,
three dams and 12 granddams are over 100,000 lifetime. This is an early fall
freshening dairy, many due at or near sale time.
Feature Individuals:
STAR - A fourth generation VG JEMINI with 18,330 4.1745. Her dam is
VG with 17,000, the second dam is VG CHIEF with 31,620 milk and 1147 of
fat. STAR is due to “SPIRIT.”
PRUDENCE - A third generation VG CAVALIER projected at 21,391 of
milk and 819 of fat. Backed by two generations of VG dams over 17,000 of
milk and 4.3 test. Bred to “SPIRIT”.
LEA A “MARK A” projected over 20,000 from an EX ELEVATION
with 29,210 4.41279.
CONSTANCE - A GP ELEVATION granddaughter projected to 19,331,
from a 23,950 BRIGAOEER, the next dam EX with 22,170.
Other Sires Represented:
Jet Stream, Jemini, Creek, Willow, Wileeda and Persuader.
Service Sires:
Stewart, Spirit, Citamatt, Banker, Creek, Ira and Mars Tony.
Mr. Lepro has bred many Excellent cows in the past, many potential
Excellents will sell. The 1985 classification breakdown is;
DIRECTIONS: EMSON FARM is located in Preston Twp.,
Wayne County. Two miles Northwest of Orson, PA. From Rt. 370
in Orson take Rt. 670 north. 12 miles from Rt. 92 at Gelatt, PA
and 5 miles from Thompson, PA on Rt. 670. Watch for arrows.
Owners:
E. W. and JANET LEPRO
R.D. #2, Thompson, PA
Auctioneer: Ph0ne:(717)727-2719
Wayne Weaver „ . ■ „ _
R.D. #2, Tunkhannock, PA Sates Mgr. & Pedigrees:
(717)333-4194
Lie. No. 984 L < 717 ) 836-5495
*************************
6 VG 27 GP 16 G
the U.S.”
Morse stresses, therefore, that it
is essential to leam how to cope
with these pests. Cornell is the only
institution concentrating research
on the deadly mite.
Morse and his graduate students
not only are surveying the Oswego
area and examining the honey bees
that are found, but also are
releasing marked bees at the port
to determine if bees new to an area
can find colonies. About 5,000 bees
were released at varying distances
from known counties. Only five
bees found hives and they were
very close-only 25 yards away.
“This tells us that lost bees do
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not have a great ability to find a
colony unless it is very close,”
Morse observes.
Members of his group, both at
Cornell and in Brazil, also are
studying the biology and control of
the mite, trying to come up with a
miticide that will exterminate the
mite without harming honey bees
or leaving a harmful residue.
“The spread of the Varroa
jacobsoni bee mite is just one
example of how increased air and
sea traffic around the globe is
spreading pests and diseases
around the planet at a horrendous
rate. As a result, American
agriculture is continually being
threatened,” Morse concludes.
ACRE
LANCASTER
UEtg COUNTY
HOG AND BEEF FARM
PUBLIC AUCTION
VALUABLE REAL ESTATE
21'x60' Sealstor Silo w/Leadig
Unloader “To Be Sold Separately”
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3,1985
At Precisely 2:00 P.M
Located along Old Line Road,
Manheim. Directions: Take Route 72
North of Manheim, PA. Turn onto
Colebrook Street, continue approx. 1
mile until you come to a Y, bear to the left
onto Line Road. Continue to Auction Site.
(Watch for Auction Arrows).
To Inspect Real Estate Call (717 ) 665-3808 or
Auction Firm.
FARM FEATURES!!
Total of 98 Acres, 72 Acres Tillable, 26 Acres
Pasture w/Spnng Fed Stream. Farm In A High
State Of Cultivation.
450-500 head Nebraska Hog Finishing Unit.
Approx. 27’x170’. Large frame bank bam
40’x80’ and 40’x40’ loafing lot being attached to
bam. Feed lot with automatic feeder for ap
prox. 100 head. Feed lot is all concrete.
4 SILOS
14’x50’ Concrete Silo, 14’x64’ Concrete Silo,
10’x32’ Harvestore Silo w/Unloader, * 21’x60’
Seal Stor Silo w/Leadig Unloader.
Other Buildings; Com Shed w/Storage area.
2M> story frame dwelling w/asbestos siding. 3
year old asphalt shingle roof; 1 car attached
garage; 1 % bathrooms; large kitchen being
nicely decorated w/built in cabinets, linoleum
flooring; 4 bedrooms, nicely decorated some
w/carpet; living room w/hardwood floors, 2
stairways; full attic; electric heat; laundry
and office area.
This farm located in Rapho Twp. Manheim,
Pa. is ideally set up for hogs and steers. Farm
has frontage along two roads: Old Line Road
and Orchard Road.
Attorney’s J. David Young, Sr.
J. David Young, Jr.
TEEMS: 10% Down day of auction. Balance
by January 1,1986.
Auction For
DONALD L HERSHEY
GERALDINE M. HERSHEY
R.D. #6
Manheim, PA
717-665-3808
Auction Conducted By The
J. Omar Landis Auction Service
Jay M. Witman, AU-01127-L
Apple & Roberts Streets
Ephrata, PA 17522
(717) 627-0789 or 665-5735