Killer Bees on a HOLIDAY?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -- The Declaration of Independence

It is July 4th on Statia. Nothing is closed, we had class and seemingly there is no difference in the day. Walking to class this morning I decided to experiment. Everyone I saw that was local was greeted with "happy holiday", and no explanation. 100% of the subjects (N=11) had a look of "what kinda crazee is he?". Now admittedly this was a random sample without blinding the researcher (can you tell I'm doing medical statistics now?), but it was fun none the less. There was a big student party at the beach this afternoon with volleyball, ETOH and food, but I didn't stay long or drink...too much to study. Happy 4th everyone...lots to be thankful for; Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

So walking around town today to get my paperwork completed for my driver's license (see separate entry), I met another local challenge, Africanized Bees.  I'm sure my mother will be thrilled to read this one. I rounded the corner and saw a local man pacing in a very strange way, just in front of me near the street. I kept walking toward him. He SCREAMED! Kijk uit! Bijen die kill! (Look out! Killer bees!) Damn, I just got over the possibility that I ate a dog. And on a holiday? Give me a BREAK!

Yep...they are here! Those dreaded creatures that we were warned about on the mainland U.S. (but made it to Texas and other states anyway). Fears of people dropping dead like flies were in my head back then. Well the are here in the Caribbean. Oh joy!

 

Africanized Honey Bee (Killer Bee) Order: Hymenoptera (Bees and Ants) Family: Apidae (Bees and Allies) Scientific name: Apis mellifera scutellata -

Some brain surgeon introduced these aggressive creatures to Brazil in 1957 to help reinvigorate the Bee farming industry there. They have been hybridizing and spreading from South America northwards, leading to horrendous adverse effects in the islands (we are really close to South America), Mexico, Central America and the U.S. "Killer Bees" are able to eliminate the queen and take over colonies of other bee species. But their claim to fame is that they are amazingly aggressive toward people to protect their territory. They swarm frequently and disperse readily. Their aggression has caused deaths of humans.

Thus the cause for alarm and the funny pacing of the man I met on the street. I stopped in the middle and then started to run. He quickly reminded me ("DON'T RUN!!) that this was exactly the wrong thing to do...I kept running. None followed. Now one more thing to compete with my quest for knowledge...The price we pay for being future healers.