Ceres bee swarm prompts testing for Africanized type

Experts are looking into the chance that Africanized bees, an especially dangerous type, were involved in a swarm that injured three people and killed a dog Sunday in Ceres.

An inspector with the Stanislaus County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office tried Monday to collect samples of dead bees from the backyard hive that was the source of the emergency. No one answered the door at the River Valley Circle home, just north of Hatch Road and east of Moffett Road.

Once samples are collected, they will undergo DNA testing over about two weeks to see if they are Africanized, said Steve Logan, a deputy commissioner.

These bees are a hybrid of the European honeybee, a key pollinator of almonds and other crops, and African bees that are more defensive of their territory. They arrived in California in 1994.

“Whenever we hear about aggressive bees, we try to verify if they are Africanized bees,” Logan said.

The home beekeeper, who was not identified, was treated at a hospital for a reaction to stings after the 5 p.m. call, said Battalion Chief Rich Scola of the Ceres Fire Department. Bees also stung a firefighter and the owner of the dog that was killed at a home a block to the south.

Residents of about 40 nearby homes were advised to stay indoors until the swarm was controlled. Another beekeeper, Alfredo Lopez, was called in to deal with the backyard hive. He waited for nightfall so the bees would calm down, then destroyed them with a pesticide, Scola said.

Anyone who sees bee swarms should stay away from them and call the police or fire department. Africanized bees can attack in large numbers and chase a victim for up to a quarter-mile.

“We want to make sure that people don’t agitate the bees,” Scola said. “Don’t do anything aggressive.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Ceres bee swarm prompts testing for Africanized type."