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Incident Record

Africanized honey bees reported in Lafayette County during southwest Arkansas spread after Brightstar detection

Encyclopedia of Arkansas states that by June 2005 Africanized bee colonies were established in several Oklahoma counties bordering Arkansas; in the next month, several were found in Miller and Lafayette counties, with isolated swarms reported in three other counties.

Record ID: AR-LAFA-2005-0700
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This record is part of a first-pass incident research dataset. Records, categories, and source notes may be updated as additional information is reviewed and verified.
Date 2005-07
Location Lafayette County / southwest Arkansas, Lafayette County, AR
State AR
Record Type Detection / Context / Advisory
Trigger / Activity Detection / Public Advisory
Severity Detection / Surveillance
Bee ID Status Confirmed Africanized
Aggression Classification Not an Attack / Context Record

Incident Summary

Encyclopedia of Arkansas states that by June 2005 Africanized bee colonies were established in several Oklahoma counties bordering Arkansas; in the next month, several were found in Miller and Lafayette counties, with isolated swarms reported in three other counties.

Public-Safety Lesson

The early Arkansas record shows Africanized honey bee detections were not limited to a single Brightstar trap and that border-area surveillance mattered before major public incidents appeared in news reports.

Impact Flags

Human Fatality No
Human Hospitalized No
Animal Fatality No
Responder Involved No

Source Information

Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas

Source Strength: C - Local / Partial Documentation