Apple Gibson has more than 200,000 pets.

That includes a couple dogs, 12 chickens and several grandchildren.

But most of her pets have a friendly buzz.

Gibson, secretary of the Pueblo County Beekeepers Association, takes care of about 200,000 bees at her home in the middle of �Hornet Country� � just a few miles west of Pueblo County High School on the St. Charles Mesa.

She said she prefers abees over wasps in the ongoing battle of the buzz in Pueblo County because they are more vital to agriculture.

�During the high part of the day there are probably 40 (wasps) a day (in the hive) and I squish them with my bare hands because they eat bees,� Gibson said gripping her fist tightly.

�I�ve seen them snap a bee out of the air and land on a post and eat it. I am not a big fan of wasps.�

With the dry winter and warmer spring weather hitting Pueblo County, citizens are reporting bees and wasps across the county and Colorado State University Farm Service agents are urging people not to spray and kill the bee swarms.

�Bees are a vital part of the agriculture in pollinating the plants,� said Tom Laca, an agriculture and natural resources extension agent in Pueblo County.

�It increases our yields in having pollinators available for these plants. It will increase yields up to 30 percent on a lot of crops.�

Laca said it�s that time of year to start seeing insects come out.

�We are going to see the bees out as well as the things that look like a bee and people confuse with bees being the hornets and wasps and yellow jackets,� Laca said.

Laca said he would like citizens to know the difference between wasps and bees.

�We all know that there is a problem in the bee population, that we are seeing declining bee numbers and that they are vitally important to agriculture. We really want to save bees, but we want to clear up some of the confusion between the two,� he said.

He said a bee is more �orange-ish� with a lot more hair on them. Wasps have visible hind legs.

�Wasps are just basically mean. Most of the time when a person is stung it�s usually by a wasp, not a bee. Bees are very gentle most of the time,� Laca said.

Laca said bees will not harm you unless you try and swat them. He said wasps are defensive the closer you get to their nest.

Laca said if you see a wasp nest, spray it with insect-killer products.

Gibson has set up wasp traps at her hive.

�This time is really a good time of year to put out wasp traps,� Laca said.

�Right now the queens are flying and if we can catch the queen before she has a chance to nest and start laying eggs and expanding the population early, then we�ve done a really good job of trying to control these insects,� Laca said.

�You kill a queen wasp, you�re killing thousands of wasps,� Gibson said.

Laca said wasps do serve a purpose and there are several different species.

�Some help get rid of spiders. Some even pollinate,� Laca said.

�But we need to protect the bees.�

Laca said if you are not sure about a bee swarm you can call the extension office at 583-6566 and someone from the beekeeping association will be sent to collect the bees and place them in a hive.

Laca also said if you are not sure if the insects are wasps or bees, you also can call the extension office for help.

anthonym@chieftain.com