Originally, the Council's idea was to simply make the population of Florida aware of the bee and its potential effects. Since then, research, training and regulatory issues have been added. This awareness plan was put before the legislative House Agriculture Committee in October last year. Part of the presentation was an in-house video tape entitled, Based on the ideas published in Plan B and others, a proposal for the Florida plan was presented to the Africanized Honey Bee Task Force in December. It consisted of four directions or thrusts, listed major goals and persons in charge and suggested a yearly budget.
Major directions are to let the public know directly and through other state agencies about the bee.
Major emphases are to study methods of identification and stock certification and the process of genetic interactions. This program is also expected to establish baseline information and study the bees' dispersal patterns. Finally, it will consult and collaborate with the USDA laboratories concerning managing both feral and domesticated bee populations. Major emphases are training beekeepers, other agriculturalists, pest control operators, bee inspectors and the scientific community. Major thrusts are to implement regulations on the beekeeping community.