The State - News from Oct. 3, 1985

State officials plan to intensify the search for Africanized or “killer” bees in a 30- to 40-square-mile area surrounding the site of the latest discovery of the fiercely aggressive insects. Officials said a seventh colony of the bees was found and destroyed Sept. 6 in an oil field 13 miles northeast of Bakersfield and 38 miles east of the 462-square-mile quarantine zone. The Department of Food and Agriculture said it will not extend the zone to include the site of the latest find, noting that the bees showed signs of genetic dilution through mating with domestic bees. Experts believe that the characteristics of Africanized bees will be gradually eliminated through mating. Africanized bees were discovered near Bakersfield in late June, the first known colonization of killer bees in the United States.