When we adults think of bees, we think of little flying insects with stingers, that fly around our gardens. As children, we were all afraid of them, believing that they lived to sting humans. Actually, honey bees tend to be docile, and only sting when provoked. Unless you are allergic to bees, they really pose little risk.

Bees actually are big business. Commercial beekeepers maintain thousands of hives. Their bees can be transported to farms, where they are released for crop pollination. After they have earned their keep, they are returned to the beekeeper's location and await their next paid assignment.

Trained beekeepers do get stung. That hazard comes with the job. But, beekeepers know how to handle bees and are familiar with bees' habits. Before they work near the hives, bee keepers often pump smoke into the hive areas in order to make them more passive. This minimizes the risk of becoming stung.

When a honeybee does sting, that is the bee's last act. You see, the stinger is a part of the bee's anatomy. When the bee stings, the stinger becomes lodged in the sting wound, and the bee becomes mortally wounded. I heard of a lawsuit where a man claimed that after he was stung, the offending bee flew away and summoned other bees for assistance. Of course, this is not possible because honey bees die after they sting.

All honey bees are not equal, however. In 1956, Brazilian researchers accidentally released a hybrid bee that spread through South America and reached the United Stated States in 1990. This new bee is called an Africanized Bee and is nicknamed a killer bee. The name killer bee is more frightening than these bees really are. However, they are more dangerous than old fashioned "European Bees."

In May, bees were found in Jacksonville, Florida. This is the first time these bees were found in Florida. Prior to this discovery, some Africanized Bees were found in ships destined for Florida, but never actually on land.

Bees have also been found in Texas, Arizona, California and New Mexico. Three people have been killed as a result of stings in Texas, and another three have thus far died in Arizona. Presumably, they will enter other States as well.

After one attack in Arizona, some citizens called on the government to eradicate this breed of bees. In response, Tucson resident Deborah Strait, who survived 400-500 bee stings, wrote a letter to the Arizona Daily Star entitled "Don't kill the bees." Ms. Strait noted that these bees came to be as a result of Brazilian scientist's experiment that went awry. She also stated that 24 cents of homeopathic medicine returned her vital signs back to normal within four hours of the attack.

In New Mexico, Africanized bees have attacked pets and individuals. In one attack, a city worker disturbed a hive with a backhoe. He suffered two heart attacks following multiple stings and survived.

Last year, Texas authorities quarantined bees found in 102 counties because Africanized Bees were encountered. The quarantine precluded bee keepers from removing their bees out of the quarantine zones.

Africanized Bees look like regular European Bees. Only DNA samples determine whether they are Africanized. What makes them different, in a sense, is that they have "an attitude." When disturbed, they become much more aggressive than European Bees, and they remain in that disturbed state for hours.

The sting from an Africanized Bee is apparently no more dangerous than the sting from a European Bee. What injures, and on occasion kills, humans and animals are the number of stings. Because they agitate more readily, when one stings, hundreds can sting. It is the multiple effect of the stings that causes harm.

Bee attacks, both European and Africanized, can be minimized by taking measures to avoid bee nesting areas. Attacks often follow nesting disturbances. When operating machinery, hiking, or playing outdoors, watch and listen for signs of bees. And if you believe you may encounter bees, have an escape route using a car or a building for protection.

The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq., and IRED.Com, Inc., will not accept any responsibilty for any reliance on the information in this column or any damages whatsoever resulting from reading this column.