LOXLEY, Ala. (WALA) – Africanized honeybees have been discovered again in Alabama. That’s the word from the Alabama Department of Agriculture in a press release Monday. Commonly known as killer bees for their aggressive nature, the colony was discovered swarming in Barbour County in southeast Alabama.
Brandon Hargraves is a Baldwin County beekeeper and apiary inspector with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry (ADAI). His B’s Bees honey and other products are sourced through the 500 or so hives he manages. FOX10 News has highlighted his work, removing one swarm from the public beach in Fairhope and another from a tree near a popular fast-food restaurant. It’s a passion for Hargraves and he put into perspective what the recent discovery of Africanized bees in Barbour County means.
“The state of Alabama has had bees in it for so long that I feel like we have such a dense population that the way that bees reproduce, that they can’t really get a foothold in the state and take over or something like that,” Hargraves explained. “That’s not even a possibility in my opinion.”
Hargraves said the bigger concern is what he’s seeing with our European honeybee colonies across the country and here at home. They’ve been in massive decline. Household flower and vegetable gardens that normally attract natures pollinators have seen very little action. Nationwide data bears out what we’ve seen here…