Killer bees are all around us. The Africanized honey bee (AHB) made its way into the U.S. in the early 1990s near Hidalgo, Texas. The species, which looks like the familiar European honey bee, made its way to Arizona by 1993 and is now also found in all the lower 48 states. They are invasive to the Western Hemisphere and to native pollinators. Unfortunately, now that the aggressive Africanized bees have invaded and crossbred with the European bees, destroying them completely may be a futile effort; however, they are dangerous and need to be eliminated when they are discovered in either beekeepers’ colonies or on homeowners’ property. “The romance people have with honey bees needs to go away,” said Reed Booth, Killer Bee Guy and owner of Killer Bee honey products at 20 Main Street. “Invasive species have never benefited a native environment they have invaded.”
Booth was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and grew up in the northwestern part of the state in Rice Lake. With an infinity for the wilderness (and its creatures) along with a soul full of wanderlust, he left home as soon as he could. “The smart ones get out,” said Booth. He traveled until his little ol’ 21-year-old self was tired of it, as he told a waitress at the Tiger Den Café in St. David. He had traveled all over Mexico, Latin America and the United States for five years after leaving his home state, visiting every national park and state park along the way; however, he decided he had enough of not knowing where he’d spend the night.
Being drawn to nature and to small towns, it was inevitable Reed’s path would land him in Bisbee in 1981. He rolled into town after getting run out of Pomerene (just north of Benson) for cohabitating with his then girlfriend from Santa Fe. “My landlord, Roy Wilcox, told me it was frowned upon in those parts,” said Booth. “He gave me the ultimatum to either get married or move out.” So, the tired traveler packed up his 1958 Rambler station wagon, “Desert Buckwheat,” which was named after the sticker from a jar of honey that he put on his dashboard, and he drove until he made it to Bisbee.….read full story (online subscribers only)
