There is an audible buzz being heard around the Old Pueblo. And it's making the telephones ring off the hook at area pest-control companies.

It's bee season ... a little early.

The Africanized honeybees - the so-called "killer" bees - have invaded the Tucson area again this year, but this time the activity is heavier than usual, and earlier in the season. It's testing local pest-control companies.

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"Our activity is through the roof right now," said Tim Johnson, area branch manager for Arizona Exterminating, who says his company is handling 15 bee-related jobs per day. "What we're seeing is requests for service all over the place; it's not concentrated in one particular area. And the only thing that makes this unique this year is that we're getting repeat issues with some customers, and that usually does not happen."

"We usually get this much business in July," said Bill Harmon, technician at Arizona Pest Control, which is handling upwards of 20 jobs daily just for bees. "We are having a hard time meeting all the calls. We have had to staff someone for a 24-hour bee hotline, things have been so active. This is by far our biggest year at this point."

Since the Africanized bee "invasion" into the U.S. began in the early 1990s, the insects have been a regular visitor during mostly the summer months. But a warmer-than-normal and wetter-than-normal winter has drawn the bees in record numbers this spring.

"Rain brings flowers, and flowers bring bees," said Steven Thoenes, entomologist at Northwest Exterminating/Northwest Beemaster, who says his company has been handling an average of 60 jobs each day. "I've been recording swarms here for the last 30 years and this is the biggest year by far. And this can mostly be traced to us having a wet winter, and it started in October. When it starts that early, the flowers come early, and so do the bees."

But, Thoenes said, this isn't the only time to pay attention. Bees will be in season through May, then are likely to return in the fall when October usually is the high time for bees.

Carl Olson, associate curator at the University of Arizona Department of Entomology, says the perception of the Africanized bees has been overblown.

"Why are we in such a panic?" he asks. "In the 12 or 13 years since these Africanized bees have been in Arizona, we've had fewer than 10 people killed. It usually takes about 2,000 stings to kill an adult. There is a misperception out there that they're overly aggressive. They don't look to attack people or animals; they just respond strongly to a predator - or what they perceive as a threat to their home. They're just defending their home. As long as someone isn't getting too close, they won't be harmful."

Olson said it comes down to a maternal instinct.

"In fact, the first bees that really attack a predator are the females," he said. "They are just protecting their offspring, just like any mother would."

Thoenes agrees, "They're generally not a public-health threat and they're so pervasive that there are plenty of very well-trained pest-control companies who know how to take care of them, so there shouldn't be a large amount of danger, especially if people are smart when they're around the bees."

The danger, though, is that the Africanized bee propagates much more rapidly than the European, or "domestic," bee. Thoenes said that a colony of Africanized bees would produce new colonies up to 10 times faster than the European version.

"Africanized bees are very prolific and highly reproductive, so if someone sees a colony, it's best to take care of it quickly by presuming it's the Africanized version to try to keep it from spreading," Thoenes said.

In appearance Africanized bees are a little smaller than domestic bees and they're more aggressive in defending their homes, Thoenes said, but the physical difference is imperceptible to most people.

"It's so difficult to tell the bees apart that we basically tell people to assume that the ones they see are Africanized," Olson said.

Generally, pest-control companies charge a minimum of $125 per hour for bee removal, with prices going up depending on the size of the job, time and additional equipment needed.

Tom Collier, president of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona, has had two hives on his property in recent years and he's learned first-hand customers should be safe shoppers.

"We're hearing about specific companies that are not doing what they say they do, or they're overcharging for the services," Collier said. "The bottom line is, don't panic, and understand that most pest-control companies have divisions that handle bee removal; you don't have to go to specialists to get the work done, and those divisions might be cheaper than the specialists."

Unless, of course, you are the specialist yourself. Johnson said his business had a hive on its property April 15. He had a sense of humor about it. "We took care of it. We invoiced ourselves, but we haven't seen a payment yet," Johnson said with a laugh. "But we know the address, so we know where to go to collect."

David Woodburn may be contacted at dwoodburn@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4239.