`KILLER BEES' ARRIVE; PARTS OF COUNTY COLONIZED BY FIERCE HYBRID.

Byline: Douglas Haberman Daily News Staff Writer

`` `Killer bees' invade L.A. Fear strikes at hearts of millions. . . . Authorities urge calm.''

This is no bad Hollywood disaster flick from the '70s. It's an official fact of life. Mark it down: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1999, a large chunk of Los Angeles County was officially declared colonized by Africanized honeybees, a deadly hybrid that has claimed the lives of five Americans since migrating through Mexico from South America.

``I want to urge that the public not panic on this issue,'' said Cato Fiksdal, Los Angeles County agricultural commissioner.

``The declaration of colonization does not really change anything, but puts the county residents and agencies on a higher level of alert regarding the presence of the bees.''

Joined by state Department of Food and Agriculture officials, Fiksdal told county supervisors the decision was made to issue the colonization declaration to raise public consciousness about the problem.

The boundaries of the bees' 1,010-square-mile range in the county at this time extend from the harbor in the south up to portions of the San Fernando Valley - south of the Ventura Freeway from Topanga Canyon east - and east to Pomona. The bees are expected to enter the eastern end of Antelope Valley by spring.

Government officials said their declaration means people should not be surprised to find Africanized honeybees in those areas. But they don't think large numbers of the winged insects are there now, nor do they think large numbers will be found soon.

In all, 76 cities and 23 unincorporated areas have been colonized and the entire county is expected to be declared colonized by the end of the year ``if not sooner,'' Fiksdal said.

``Once here, they're here forever. It's never going to go away.''

Fiksdal said he would like to explore the possibility of an ordinance allowing the county to send pest control operators onto private property to eradicate killer bees in cases where the property owner can't afford a private service or simply won't agree to hire one.

The board voted unanimously to have Fiksdal work with county attorneys to come up with a model ordinance for all cities in the county.

The killer bees' presence in Los Angeles County doesn't appear to be part of a westward migration from Texas all the way to Fontana and the Victorville area in San Bernardino County since the bees entered the United States from Mexico in 1990, Fiksdal said.

Rather, they appear to have ``hitchhiked'' on ships from Latin America, establishing a colony in Lawndale last month, for example. A swarm - a breakaway group moving to a new location - was also found in Carson in November.

The bees are not altogether new to the Los Angeles area. A previous hitchhikers' colony was found in Long Beach Harbor in July 1994.

``It really is the first time they've entered a major urban area,'' said Bill Routhier, a state Department of Food and Agriculture expert on Africanized honeybees.

The entire county - all 4,083 square miles of it - is likely to be declared colonized within a year, Fiksdal said.

Asked by county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich how officials could deal with the killer bees, Fiksdal said there is no way to prevent or eliminate them altogether.

``All of the experts say it is something we will have to learn to live with,'' he said during a presentation to the Board of Supervisors.

While efforts were taken to eliminate all the killer bees found so far, authorities believe that many could have moved on before the eradication took place.

``Better to alert the public than wait till somebody gets stung,'' Fiksdal said.

One or two stings aren't the problem. It's that the bees very aggressively defend their hive - including attacking anyone who gets too close, he and Routhier said.

Five people have died in the United States from killer bee attacks with the most recent death occurring in April 1997 in Casa Grande, Ariz. There have been several attacks on humans and animals in Southern California but no deaths, Routhier said.

To the naked eye, the killer bees are physically indistinguishable from the European bees that already live here. In fact it takes wing measurements under a microscope or even DNA testing to determine whether a honeybee is Africanized, Fiksdal said.

But by their unrelenting attacks - wave upon wave of bees - you will know them, he said.

``The public will know the difference,'' Fiksdal said.

`KILLER BEE' FACTS

Africanized honeybees, also called killer bees, resulted from the cross-breeding of African bees and more docile European bees.

ABOUT THE BEES:

Queen bees escaped from an agricultural research station in 1957 in Brazil and have migrated northward at the rate of about 300 miles a year ever since.

The bees appear no different to the naked eye than their European cousins, but they attack much more aggressively when a human or animal approaches their colony, which can be home to 50,000 bees.

There have been 17 stinging incidents in California, none resulting in death, since their arrival in October 1994. Fourteen occurred in 1998 - eight in Imperial County, four in Riverside County and two in San Bernardino County.

Three or four years after establishing colonies in an area, the killer bee population tends to become less aggressive. They are most aggressive in defense of their hives during a 21-day period in which baby bees develop from eggs into adults.

WHAT TO DO:

If attacked, protect your head - bees will get into your mouth, eyes, nose and ears, and are attracted to hair - and run for an enclosed space, whether a car or a building.

If there is nowhere to hide, run straight - no zigzagging - away from the colony for at least a quarter mile. Most humans can move faster than the bees.

Do not jump in water. The killer bees will simply wait you out and as soon as you lift your head above water they will attack.

A human can survive as many as 1,000 stings but should seek immediate medical attention and should call 911 if stung repeatedly.

Property owners should clear their land of potential nesting sites such as old tires, abandoned cars, old pipes on the ground, and water meter or electricity meter boxes. The space inside walls also is popular with bees, so seal all holes that can serve as entrances.

If you find a hive, do not attempt to remove it yourself. If it's outdoors, and not in or on a structure, call [phone] to notify your local vector control district. A suppression unit will be dispatched within 24 hours free of charge.

Bees in or on structures should be handled by a certified structural pest control operator who is trained to treat and remove Africanized honeybees. For a list of those pest control operators, call (800) BEE-WARY.

Source: Los Angeles County

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