Water meter reading is becoming a dangerous profession. Postal workers delivering mail have their dogs and, now, water meter readers have their bees! For some reason, known only to the bees themselves, honeybee colonies are taking up residence in water meters.
Stranger, still, the bees have a real preference for underground water meters. How do they get into the meters? Often, through the small key holes that are supposed to be used only by the meter readers themselves. What’s especially odd about this is that the honey bees aren’t natural underground nest or hive builders. There are a large number of lesser known bees that do nest underground, but the poor honey-production of these underground bees has kept them out of the limelight.
Worse yet, fear gave way to panic (at least it did if you were a water meter reader) when it was popularly believed that only Africanized honeybees would build nests underground. So, if there were bees in your water meter, they had to be Africanized -- in other words -- killer bees.
Africanized honey bees are hybrids resulting from the mating of African honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) and any one of several species of North and South American bees. All bee species must guard their honey. In North America and Europe the chief threat to the bees’ honey stores is the famous, iconic honey bear. But, in Africa, the honey-hungry hive invaders are really fierce animals including the large cats for which Africa is famous.
How did the poor African honeybee survive? By becoming the meanest, toughest, and most lethal honeybee on earth. Africanized honey bees can be quite nice -- as long as you don’t go near their honey! If you do, you’ll find they have no sense of humor -- none. They will sting first and ask questions later. The African bee, by the way, is one of the best producers of honey of all the honeybee breeds.
The Africanized bee is a genuine example of making the most of what you’ve got. Contrary to popular legend, this bee is just a bit smaller than the common honeybee. The Africanized bee has the same sting and venom as its European counterparts. So, what makes it so deadly that it’s earned the name killer bee? Only one thing. It’s behavior. The Africanized bee is more “defensive” than any other breed of honeybee.
“Defensive” is the, sometimes, misleading word beekeepers use to describe aggressive behavior in bees.
The Africanized honey bee will attack at the least provocation. Getting close to their hive is enough. These bees will follow you for as far as a third of a mile before giving up the chase. They are fast. And they are persistent. In one instance, the victims dove into a pond to escape an Africanized swarm. After holding their breath for about a minute, they raised the fronts of their faces just above the water’s surface. Guess who was waiting for them . . . and . . . began aggressively stinging their exposed faces?
Again, there are no bees of the pure African breed found wild in the Western Hemisphere. The African honey bee (A. m. scutellata) is actually a member of the same species as the typical honey bee you see outdoors, the “Italian bee” (A. m. ligustica). But bees, like dogs, come in breeds. And, as in dog breeds, the size, appearance and behavior of different bees of the same species can be radically different.
Bees of the pure African breed first came the Western Hemisphere through South America. In captivity, for a series of scientific experiments, an accident allowed about 26 African queen bees to escape. Since that escape, in 1957, the African bees have mated and produced hybrids. The speed with which the hybrids spread through the western hemisphere earned the Africanized honeybee the dubious distinction of being possibly the most successful invasive species on earth, appearing in the southern United States in 1985.
So, Africanized bees have invaded. But are they taking up stealthy positions in our water meters? Are the ill-prepared meter readers, unknowingly, in the front lines? Well, the situation may not be so simple. After the reports of the Africanized honeybees in water meters surfaced, dozens of reports of common honeybees making nests in water meters surfaced as well.
So, where did the idea that all water meter hives were Africanized come from? Exterminators. Exterminators have told, and continue to tell homeowners, that the hives in their water meters are surely Africanized. This information is followed by a warning to the homeowner of possible personal liability if the Africanized bees attack someone on the property.
Problem?
Exterminators make money by removing bee infestations. Professional exterminators are absolutely necessary for the removal of Africanized bees. If another bee species is involved, removal is relatively easy and a local government agency or beekeeping organization will, often, do the work for nothing.
Why?
Well, honeybee populations are declining at an alarming rate in North America and Europe. Preserving bee colonies is such a high priority that, in most places, cost free removal is available for any of the common breeds of honeybee. Preservation of hives and bees is currently a high public priority. Of course, if the bees are Africanized, the professional exterminator is perfectly appropriate. Africanized bees are honestly and predictably dangerous.
Advice?
Call a local beekeeping association or your local government (city or county) and explain the situation. In many cases, they will arrange to come to your property and actually determine whether or not your water meter (or any) hive is Africanized. If so, call the exterminator. If not, arrangements can often be made to remove the bees without cost to you.
Oh, and this is very important, don’t forget to call you water company and let them know that there is a potentially unpleasant situation awaiting the next meter reader. Then, explain what arrangements you are making to have the hive examined and removed.
But, still, the mystery remains. What’s so great about water meters that bees want to build hives inside the meter boxes. The answer may be much easier than we think. Water meter boxes may, accidentally, be designed to be the ideal hive.
The key or thumb hold opening in the typical water meter box is the perfect size for a hive entrance. The box, itself, is metal. So, whether in the ground or high in the air, the hive is secure against honey robbers. The interior of the box is about an ideal size to contain honey and brood combs. In other words, the water meter box is nearly a perfect, modern, and secure prefabricated home for the modern bee colony looking for a good location, easy access and safety.
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