250 million bees on the loose in Washington state after truck rolls over
Authorities reported that a commercial lorry carrying 70,000 pounds of pollinator beehives overturned in the town of Lynden, five miles south of the border with Canada, allowing 250 million bees to make their escape.
'250 million bees are now loose,' the Whatcom county sheriff's department posted on social media.
'AVOID THE AREA due to the potential of bee escape and swarming.'
More than two dozen beekeepers assisted emergency responders – some of whom were stung – with recapturing the bees, a spokesman for the sheriff's department told local media.
The swarm of bees was so dense, it was 'like a cloud', Derek Condit, one of the beekeepers, told local media.
'It was pretty chaotic.'
Some of the beekeepers were reportedly stung over a dozen times and were using tape to plug holes in their suits.
'I've never had that many bees – angry bees – at one time,' said Russell Deptuch, another local beekeeper, in an interview with local media.
The lorry was on its way to the US state of South Dakota when it rolled over early on Friday morning.
However, it was a botched rescue mission several hours later which ultimately caused the mass flight as a tow truck attempted to pull the vehicle out of a ditch, causing the hives to fall off.
'Unfortunately, that didn't happen as smoothly as was hoped, and some of the beehives broke open, which caused all the bees to swarm, which is how we're in the situation we're in now,' said Matt Klein, the deputy director of the division of emergency management for the sheriff's department, in a statement.
The aim of the recovery operation is to save as many bees as possible and allow them to re-hive and find their queen, which the sheriff's department estimated would take one or two days.
Although there is a large number of bees needing to be recaptured, the insects are social and drawn to their hives, meaning they are likely to stay near the truck.
'That's where their queen and the next generation of bees (the 'brood') are located,' Gene Robinson, a professor of entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told The New York Times.
Each hive tends to contain between 40,000 and 60,000 bees, Mr Robinson said.
As of Friday afternoon, the beekeepers and emergency responders had restored most of the hives, and the majority of the insects are expected to return by Saturday morning, the sheriff's department said.
Until then, the road has been closed and the public advised to stay at least 200 yards from the area.
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