I lived in the Canal Zone between 1966, and 1968. I was all of
6-9 years old, but I remember some of it. I have to say the only
experience I had with getting stung was actually Yellow Jackets,
once on a Boy Scout hike we came across a wild tree, but I was
too terrified to actually see it. Needless, there was no AHB
there at the time. AHB are nothing more than regular bees with a
neurosis. The key word here is DEFENSIVE. Think a sick dog, or
cat. When the don't feel well or are fighting with another dog
or cat, you might not want to get too close to them, or you
might get bitten. You may see the mellifera scutella around, not
even know they're there. Get too close to the hive, and it could
be bad news. The problem isn't in their heads, but actually in
their noses. Bees can smell stuff Dogs can't. In fact, that's
the general means of communication with their species. Sometimes
the pheromone triggers a hyper sensitive reaction in the colony,
but this can be true of any race of bees. The original honeybee,
Apis M