It appears the Clarion-Ledger got caught in a bit of fear-mongering. The "state newspaper" reported Africanized "killer bees" are here in Mississippi yesterday.
However, a professor at the Mississippi State University Extension Service took strong exception to the "reporting":
This is my letter to the Clarion Ledger in response to their story about Africanized honey bees:I am the university apiculture specialist within the Extension Service at Mississippi State University. I read a story about Africanized honey bees (AHB) published by the Clarion Ledger, and I was appalled that no one had interviewed me or a representative from the Mississippi Department of Agriculture. We could have corrected a very gross error in the story: Africanized honey bees are not established in Mississippi as suggested by the article and social media posts of the article.I have been the beekeeping specialist at MSU since 2012. There has only been ONE confirmed identification of Africanized honey bees in our state during the last 13 years. It was a colony found in Pass Christian, and it likely arrived via shipping at a port near the home where it was found. The bees were destroyed by the Bureau of Plant Industry. They also set up surveillance traps for swarms of honey bees in that area and monitored them for at least a year. They caught many swarms, but none were Africanized. Then MDAC considered the initial colony was most likely an isolated event and not part of a migrating front of AHB moving into our state.There have been no further reports of Africanized honey bees in MS. They certainly are not established anywhere in the state. This is wrong!Why does it matter? First, there can be undue alarm created in the public. People have already inundated me with questions as to why I have not warned the public of the danger. In reality, I have periodically spoken about the potential of these bees becoming established in our state I have offered up the advice that the rest of the article in your paper described. However, I always tell the audience of the current status of the established AHB zones to our west (Louisiana to California, northward into Arkansas, Oklahoma) and central and south Florida to our southeast. They are not established in MS.This statement of AHB being in Mississippi has the potential of significant economic harm to our commercial beekeepers of southern Mississippi ( actually, all of MS). They sell genetic lines of bees that are resistant to a parasitic mite, and folks will not buy these bees if there is a perceived risk of getting genes from their bees mating with AHB that express high defensive behavior ( stinging). People will not buy our bees because who wants bees that sting like "killer bees?" We also have a healthy businesses for producing starter colonies and replacement queens. These businesses could also be devastated by people thinking that AHB are well-established in our state.I would like a retraction or correction ASAP. Every day that the story goes unchallenged does damage to our state's beekeepers. Please help! As senior editor of the Clarion Ledger, you should want to correct the record.Sincerely,Jeff HarrisAssociate ProfessorMSU Extension Service
Nice job, Clarion-Ledger, nice job.
18 comments:
Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence.
Wait, are you telling me that a local media source ran with a completely fabricated click-bait story designed to do nothing but foment fake alarm?
This is my shocked face.
We gotta move these refrigerators. We gotta move these color TVs.
Well how clever. Using your rationale then I guess unicorns and leprechauns are in MS too.
If you read down to the bottom of the article, it said the last known colony was destroyed in 2014. WLBT picked it up too. I shared it with friends, making fun of the low IQ dishonest media. Again.
"Absence of evidence isn’t evidence of absence."
Stated another way, just because there is no evidence the Earth is flat, that does not mean that the Earth is not flat.
Several years ago, I was driving in the ms. Delta. My radio picked up an interview with the guy from Ms. state university. That knows everything you would ever need to know about honey bees. I listened to this subject for as long as I could pick it up. I never before enjoyed listened to a subject I had little or no interest in, but I was in the Ms. Delta and to choices were few. I have a new appreciation for the bee/honey business.
Dude don’t hold your breath on that retraction! CL just glad someone read their article.
Journos are not subject matter experts no matter how hard they work to convince you otherwise nor how deep they supposedly dive.
Btw, the notion of 'deep dive' is such bullshit.
The story is just click bait. They are desperate for clicks and likes. How is the Clarion Ledger even still in business. The good professor will win the lottery before they retract the story.
I’m not an English major, but as a reader, I am embarrassed for the low end media (WLBT & Clarion Ledger, among others) in central Mississippi. They lose all credibility when they can not use proper verbiage. And it’s not accidental. They are simply not educated or what they learned is wrong.
11:07, -11:55, y’all have no clue! Bwaahahahaha!!
The absolute truth is that you rarely see honeybee anymore. Thet have been almost wiped out by mite infestations form Asia. The Horror, The Horror..
That appears to be Rob Reiner in the clip. If so, it only adds more bullshit to the Clarion's story.
It’s no different than the national “news”. Fox “News” had a headline last week:
“ Democrat Tammy Duckworth hasn’t paid property tax on her Illinois home since 2015, report says”
They decided not to include that state law exempts disabled veterans from paying property tax. It’s all for just rage bait. This site does the same along with everyone else. If everyone gave an accurate portrayal of both sides, it would require a lot more nuanced debate than you bad, me good.
It's not called the clarion liar for nothing.
Clarion-Error, you’re fake news.
Now, who was it said something like that before?
@11:55 ... Looks like you finally got your "medical marijuana" card.
When The Clarion Ledger reached a price of $2.50/day, it became unaffordable.That and the fact they carried very little local news, I had to let it go.
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