Question:

  Our city has become notorious as the first in the area to be colonized by Africanized bees.  An elderly man was stung to death last week (really sad; he was a bee-keeping hobbyist who didn’t know his hive had been taken over).   I recall reading that in Texas, where they have been for some time, far more dogs than humans have been killed.  Is this simply because, in rural areas, dogs are apt to be out and about more?  Or is there some attraction?    Aside from vigilance, are there precautions one can take to protect one’s pets?    BTW, as a lifelong bee-lover, I’m finding it difficult to adjust to seeing them as a threat.

Response:

Well, judging from my dogs’ reactions to buzzing insects, they seem more likely to go check out and snap at angrily buzzing bees than to avoid them like most of us would. Denna Lasik >  Our city has become notorious as the first in the area to be colonized >by >Africanized bees.  An elderly man was stung to death last week (really >sad; he was a bee-keeping hobbyist who didn’t know his hive had been >taken over). >  I recall reading that in Texas, where they have been for some time, >far more dogs than humans have been killed.  Is this simply because, in >rural areas, dogs are apt to be out and about more?  Or is there some >attraction? >   Aside from vigilance, are there precautions one can take to protect >one’s pets? >   BTW, as a lifelong bee-lover, I’m finding it difficult to adjust to >seeing them as a threat.

Bored? Visit Windwolf’s Completely Useless Webpage! Pointless, bandwidth wasting info about me, and pics of my artwork and pets. A great time for the easily amused! http://www.picantes.com/windwolf * Remove references to flourescent pink pseudo-meat before replying.

Response:

> >  Our city has become notorious as the first in the area to be colonized >by >Africanized bees.  > >   Aside from vigilance, are there precautions one can take to protect >one’s pets?

John Doe says: > and the relevance is??

That maybe your dog might be the next one stung to death? I don’t know the answer to protecting your dogs, and it worries me somewhat. Though we are here in the NW, and I don’t believe the Africanized bees will reach that far, I have a dog with allergies, so IF she were to be stung multiple times by even regular bees, it could be life threatening to her. Lois E.

Response:

 And the relevance is…are there dog behaviors that are likely to put them in jeopardy?  If they can be "snake-proofed", can they be "bee-proofed"?

Response:

>   I recall reading that in Texas, where they have been for some time, > far more dogs than humans have been killed.  Is this simply because, in > rural areas, dogs are apt to be out and about more?  Or is there some > attraction?

I think it is more a question of dogs being smaller than people, so it takes a smaller number of stings to deliver a "fatal dose." Janet Ps.you might try to find a beekeeping newsgroup to search/ask.

Response: