Oklahoma State University’s Plant Disease and Insect Diagnostic Laboratory recently discovered the first positive sample for Africanized honey bees in Payne County.

The sample came from a daycare center where a swarm had settled on some playground equipment.

“All bees in the colony were destroyed and no stinging instances were reported,” said Rick Grantham, director of the laboratory, part of the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. “The situation has been handled. People need to be aware but not feel as though a state of emergency exists. This is simply a part of nature.”

The DASNR laboratory works closely with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry in the monitoring of insect-related issues in the state.

Two additional locations also have been added to the pool of positive finds for 2008: Blaine and McCurtain counties. To date, Africanized honey bees have been found in 33 counties in Oklahoma.

Grantham said the most recent discoveries provide some important benchmarks for the state. First, Payne County represents the known northern presence of the bees in Oklahoma. Second, McCurtain County marks the farthest southeastern presence.

“We don’t presently know how far north to expect these insects to become established,” he said. “If records from Arizona are any indication, Africanized honey bees are widespread across Arizona with colonies and swarms being found at high elevations that are now snow-covered. Nature can find a way around many inhospitable situations.”

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