AMARILLO – Bees confirmed as the Africanized strain have been found in the Panhandle, prompting a word of caution from a Texas Cooperative Extension specialist.
Dr. Carl Patrick, Extension entomologist in Amarillo, said this summer he has received two to three samples of bees a week to send for testing, compared to two to three a month in the past.
"We just need people to understand we have them (Africanized honey bees) in the area, and there will be bees throughout the Panhandle that act a little more aggressively than they have in the past," he said.
The first confirmed case was collected Jan. 30 in Armstrong County, Patrick said. Since then, bees from Amarillo in Randall County were collected and tested positive on April 19, May 16 and June 1.
"We knew they had moved as far north as Swisher County in the past years, but this is the first year they've been found this far north," he said. "We haven't received anything from the northern Panhandle, but we have to assume they run throughout the area now."
Distinguishing between native honey bees and the Africanized strain cannot be done visually, Patrick said. All bees must be sent to the Texas Honey Bee Identification Lab in College Station to be confirmed through genetic tests or by measurements.