AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES COMMISSIONER: Department of Ag & Industries Hosts Africanized Honey Bee Workshop for First Responders

FROM THE AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES COMMISSIONER

June 23, 2008

MONTGOMERY – Commissioner Ron Sparks announces that the Department of Agriculture & Industries will host an Africanized Honey Bee Workshop for first responders on June 25th from 9am until Noon in the auditorium of the Richard Beard Building at 1445 Federal Drive in Montgomery.  The exercise will include field training for first responders in handling Africanized honey bee swarms and stinging incidents.   

The featured speaker will be Dr. William Kern of the University of Florida, Cooperative Extension Program.  The workshop will include sessions on Africanized honey bee biology and behavior, personal protection equipment and tactics, rescue/extraction demonstrations, and other field demonstrations.         

“As the Africanized honey bee approaches our borders, we must begin to prepare for the inevitable,” states Sparks.  “Now is the time to educate ourselves and prepare our surrounding environment for this aggressive and hostile bee’s arrival.  The honey bee is essential for our farmers and nature itself so we must protect the beekeeping industry at all costs.”

  For more information on the exercise, please contact the Plant Industry Section at 334-240-7225.  Members of the media are welcome to observe the training workshop.