Hear the buzz?

Submitted Photo. An increased flower population, caused by a wet winter, will bring more bees to the area.

A relatively wet winter and the recent warm weather promises a spectacular wildflower season this year. Yet while those blossoms will add an extra burst of color to the desert, they also spell the beginning of a particularly prolific bee season.

“If you have good rains, there’s going to be a really good wildflower season. That gives bees a lot of pollen and nectar to build their populations, and it makes for a very good year for bees,” said Dr. Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, director of the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson.

Earlier this week, one resident has already had a close encounter with a large bee population on the move. Along with his wife and two friends, Larry Gruber hiked a few miles up a wash near Parker, and on his way back encountered a huge swarm of what he believes were Africanized honeybees, known popularly as “killer bees.”

“We were out walking, and son of a gun, here’s this ball of bees,” Gruber said. “They were small black bees, and man, they were mad. They were just fierce.”

Gruber estimated the size of the swarm at several thousand bees, and said he and his group beat a hasty retreat. “We got the heck out of there,” he said. “It was scary.”

DeGrandi-Hoffman confirmed that the wild swarm was likely Africanized bees. “In the feral population, they are the predominant type.”

Rick Felish, battalion chief with the Lake Havasu City Police Department, said his unit made their first response to a bee emergency earlier this week. Workers with the public works department reported a swarm of bees inside a water meter, and the fire department responded by killing the bees with foam.

“I would anticipate this year, being wet like it is, and warming up early, that we’ll have more activity,” said Felish.

But while the fire department will respond to a bee emergency, in the case of multiple of stings or where children are at risk, residents who find swarms in their backyards are advised to simply be patient and wait for the bees to move along.

“We always tell people, if they see a swarm in a tree, not to call an exterminator because chances are, in 24 to 48 hours they will be gone,” said DeGrandi-Hoffman.

During the spring, swarms are on the move looking for new places to nest. If they choose a spot in a tree or bush, it often means they are simply resting, and sending out scouts to find a location for a new hive. The large dense balls they form are designed to protect the queen bee.

If a swarm stays in the same place for an extended period of time, or appears to be building a hive within a wall, a tree or under a building’s eaves, then the best response is generally to call a professional exterminator. “The worst thing you can do is go over there by yourself and start spraying, or self-exterminating,” said Felish. “If they’re not bothering anybody, just leave them alone.”

Professional exterminators work at night or at dawn, before the bees are active. “We kill them while they’re sleeping,” said Jeff Smith, an exterminator with Havasu Pest Control.

A swarm or hive that is disturbed in the middle of the day can become extremely dangerous very quickly, regardless of whether the bees are the “killer” variety, or not.

“Even the nice bees can be not-so-nice,” said Felish. “If you see them, just keep away.”

Arizona has thousands of species of native wild bees, but only the honeybees in the region have been introduced by humans. The first honeybees were brought from the south by the Spanish in the 16th century. In the mid-20th century, a Brazilian geneticist, Warwick Kerr, brought over several varieties of honeybees from Africa in an attempt to create a cross-breed that would be better suited to the tropical climate.

The Africanized bees were released accidentally and within a few years, had established feral colonies noted for their aggressiveness. The bees eventually moved north through Central America and reached Mexico in the 1980s. In 1991, a man in Texas suffered the first attack from an Africanized bee in the U.S.

Arizona suffered its first Africanized honeybee fatality in 1995, in Apache Junction.

The bees are virtually indistinguishable from regular honeybees, but are known to be extraordinarily aggressive and to quickly attack perceived threats. Dark clothing, and floral or citrus perfumes or aftershaves can attract the bees, and should be avoided when hiking in the region. Cracks and crevices, and other attractive areas for a colony should be filled to remove potential nesting areas around the home.

You may contact the reporter at jrudolf@havasunews.com.