We still have some wild bees that apparently haven't interbred yet. We were all sharing the same leaky water hose this summer and no one objected. However, we also have some that I believe have requeened with killer bee queens. When they swarm, I usually like to go observe them. They have a particular set of trees they hide their queen in until they can locate a new hive. I always wondered if I just put up a hive 'they will come'? Anyhow, last couple of years when their swarm occurred, the scouts were VERY aggressive. I wasn't anywhere close and they were buzzing me and making rather loud, agitated sounds, zippy, darting movements. I didn't linger to test my theory! I watched a documentary on Discovery or PBS channel some years back on them. Said the queen's mating flight occurs a day or so earlier than the domestic bee, so chances of the hive becoming Africanized is good, if there are any in the area at all. They do produce less honey but are stronger pollinators than the domestics with less disease problems in the hives. But, working them is extremely tricky. People have found that if they wear a complete suit covering, including a 15 - 20 foot plastic breathing tube to expel breaths well away from the hive, the bees remain relatively calm. In the same film, they also viciously attacked a stuffed toy dog so I don't know exactly how well the breath - theory works in practice. Texas A&M put up bee boxes all around our areas trying to determine the extent of infiltration. I noticed they've either abandoned them or taken them down so I expect they have concluded that we now have them in the wild.
