Overview

• DNA testing confirmed the June 30 Barbour County discovery as Africanized hybrids and the colony was euthanized within days
• Alabama has deployed traps and launched genetic screening of wild and managed hives statewide to detect any invasive genes
• Georgia’s Agriculture Department has stepped up field monitoring along the Chattahoochee River and asked Quitman County beekeepers to report any overly aggressive colonies
• No Africanized hives have been found across the border since the Barbour County removal, though experts caution against complacency given warmer winters
• The colony’s unexpected origin—nesting inside a house wall—underscores challenges in tracing how invasive swarms migrate far beyond known ranges