Do you think there have been more bees around this year than usual?

Getting confirmation from an expert depends who you talk to.

“The beekeepers are saying bees are healthier,” said Guy Tingos, Santa Barbara County deputy agricultural commissioner. “When they're healthy, there are more of them and more swarming.

“We've always received a lot of calls in spring, which is the normal time for swarming,” he said. “It seems to be extending into the summer.”

On the other hand, Stan Hart, battalion chief of operations for the Lompoc Fire Department, which handles bee calls, hasn't noticed any particular increase.

When firefighters do investigate, “Ninety-five percent of the time they're not a problem,” he said. “We leave them alone.”

Linda Nadeau, a beekeeper referred by Santa Maria police and fire departments, is another who thinks there are no more bees than usual. While she has gotten more calls, she feels it's just that people are becoming more aware of her.

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“People are just afraid of bees,” she said. “They're really gentle little creatures. I've been out on five swarm calls this year.”

All three agree bees are not a bugaboo. While bee swarms may look intimidating, the opposite is true.

“When bees are swarming, they are incredibly docile,” said Tingos.

“They're not going to pose a threat,” Hart agreed.

Tingos offered some advice, however: If you have a bee swarm, wait 24 to 36 hours. “The swarm will leave on its own,” he said.

“When you've got more bees and healthier bees, you have more pollinization and more honey production,” he added. “It's a good thing.”

“Everything we eat is pollinated by bees,” said Nadeau, a bee champion who scrapes the swarms gently into a box and takes them home, feeding them through the winter before releasing them - and getting some honey in return.

The bad guys are the Africanized bees, and on that subject there's good and bad news.

The worst first - “You can't tell Africanized honey bees from European honey bees,” said Tingos. “DNA analysis is the only way.”

The good news, though, is that while two swarms of Africanized bees were found in Goleta in 2002, “those swarms were destroyed,” he said. “None have been found (in the county) since.”

The Africanized bees have had one effect on the county. The agricultural commissioner's office no longer gives out the names of beekeepers. In the North County, people can call their local fire department if bees become a health issue. On the South Coast, people may call the Santa Barbara County's Vector Control District.

But the experts who value bees agree strongly on one point:

“Tell people not to destroy them,” Nadeau pleaded.

Sally Cappon can be reached at sjcappon@aol.com.

August 29, 2006