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USA Today
19 hours ago
- Science
- USA Today
'Killer bees' keep spreading (and killing) across the US
Scientists say the bees' temperament is to ward off predators. But unsuspecting humans will find them to be aggressive, spiteful and terrifying. Africanized honey bees, often called "killer bees," are now found in 13 states and are slowly spreading northward, attacking people, livestock and pets along the way. In the last three months alone, a man mowing his property died after a bee attack, three people were taken to the hospital after tree trimmers disturbed a colony, hikers ran a mile to get away from an agitated hive and a woman and three horses were swarmed by bees spooked by a lawn mower. The horses later died from "thousands" of stings, their owner said. Scientists say the bees' temperament is a defense mechanism to ward off predators – and note that because honey bees die after stinging, they are sacrificing themselves to protect their colony. But to unsuspecting humans, killer bees sure seem aggressive, spiteful and terrifying. They've been known to follow their victims for up to a mile – even following cars and trucks – and can sting through regular beekeeping gear. In the attack on the Texas horses, owner Baillie Hillman said, "they didn't give up." As parts of the west become warmer and drier, it's only going to get worse as the bees' preferred climate moves northward. There's no national database of deaths related to bee stings, but a 2023 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that on average 72 people died a year from hornet, wasp and bee stings. "In Texas, every year there's at least four big (Africanized bee) attacks that make the news," said Juliana Rangel, a professor of apiculture (beekeeping) at Texas A&M University, where they're widespread in the wild. "Killer bees" first made headlines in the 1990s when they began to appear in the United States, spawning alarming news stories and a surge of horror movies such as Deadly Invasion, The Swarm, The Savage Bees. Today, people in the South and the Southwest are learning to live with them, but the danger remains, especially when the highly defensive bees first appear in an area or when people accidentally run into a colony. Africanized honey bees don't survive in areas with cold winters and don't like high levels of rain, making for natural cutoffs in areas where temperatures fall, Rangel said. However in the coming decades, climate change means the bees could potentially move into southeastern Oregon, the western Great Plains and the southern Appalachian mountains, according to research published in 2014. "By 2050 or so, with increasing temperatures, we're going to see northward movement, mostly in the Western half of the country," said Rangel. How dangerous are Africanized honey bees? Africanized honey bees don't have more, or more potent, venom than Western honey bees. "The stings feel the same," said Rangel. What differentiates them is the numbers a colony sends out to attack. While each bee can only sting once before it dies, a colony of Africanized honey bees will send out proportionally more bees in a defensive response, leading to more stings. "If I'm working around one of my European honey bee colonies and I knock on it with a hammer, it might send out five to ten individuals to see what's going on. They would follow me perhaps as far as my house and I might get stung once," said Ellis. "If I did the same thing with an Africanized colony, I might get 50 to 100 individuals who would follow me much farther and I'd get more stings. It's really an issue of scale," he said. Africanized honey bees are also much more sensitive to potential threats. "You could be mowing a lawn a few houses away and just the vibrations will set them off," Rangel said. There are multiple reports of people cutting into colonies when trimming trees, clearing brush or doing landscaping. In some cases tree trimmers set off an attack merely by throwing a rope over a branch. In toxicology, researchers speak of the LD50, the lethal dose required to kill 50% of those exposed to it, said Rangel. For honeybee stings, it's calculated at about 9 stings per pound of weight. So half of people who weigh 150 pounds might die if they got 1,350 stings. That's unlikely with Western honey bees, but can happen with Africanized bees. In 2022, an Ohio man suffered 20,000 bee stings when cutting tree branches. He survived but only after being put in a medically-induced coma. What states have Africanized honeybees? At least 13 state have reported Africanized honeybees. In the south, southern Florida has the highest numbers. "From Tampa to Orlando to Daytona, south of that a large percentage of the feral bee population are of African decent. North of that we don't have much," said Ellis. Africanized bees have also been reported in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, though they don't seem to thrive in those wetter environments as much. The bees have found a natural home in the Southwest, in part because the landscape is much like the arid and semi-arid parts of Africa they're originally from. Feral colonies are common in southern California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and especially Texas. They've also been seen in southwest Arkansas, southern Utah and about two-thirds of Oklahoma, said Szalanski. Where did killer bees get their killer instincts? There are around 20,000 species of bees on the planet and only 12 of them are honey bees. Of those, 11 are found in Asia and only one in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is called Apis mellifera, the Western honey bee, said Jamie Ellis, a professor of honey bee research at the University of Florida. There are multiple subspecies of Apis mellifera. It was one of these, the East African lowland honey bee (Apis mellifera scutellata), that was imported to Brazil in the 1950s. In the areas where East African lowland honey bees live, they have many predators so they've evolved to be more defensive, said Ellis. "They're not really aggressive, they're not just looking for a fight," he said. "They're just trying to communicate that, 'You are too close to us. We don't want you here – go away.'" That can feel pretty scary when they're coming after you, said Rangel. She's done research on bees in Belize, where people keep hives far from their homes and livestock and put on their protective beekeeping clothing in their trucks before getting out near a hive. "They can pursue you in your vehicle for a mile," she said "The only thing preventing them from killing you is the veil. It's like a cloud of bees that all want to sting you. It's scary." How did Africanized honey bees get to the United States? Africanized honeybees are a cross between Western honey bees, from Europe and the East African lowland honey bee. They first occurred in 1956, when a prominent Brazilian geneticist, Warwick Kerr, brought African bees to Brazil to hybridize them with Western honey bees from Europe, which didn't do well there. His plan was to breed bees that were better adapted to Brazil's climate while retaining the gentleness and high honey-producing traits of the Western honey bees. He didn't get the chance. A year later, 26 Africanized queen bees were accidentally released into a nearby forest, where they thrived, said Kirk Visscher, an emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside. "The beekeeping industry in those areas is now far more vital than it was – they just have mean bees," he said. That hybrid between the two subspecies, called Africanized honey bees, began to make its way north, arriving in south Texas in 1990. "They spread a lot quicker than what people thought was possible. They never thought they could get from Brazil to Texas in a span of less than 40 years," said Allen Szalanski, a professor of entomology at the University of Arkansas. "But they did." The two bee subspecies are impossible to differentiate without either DNA analysis or careful observation of their wing vein patterns. It is their behavior that sets them apart. Most of the danger is from feral hives in the wild. Beekeepers carefully manage their hives to keep Africanized queens out. Because bees are so critical to agriculture, the movement of bees is regulated in many states. Most have a bee inspector to oversee the process. Currently a total of 38 states regulate the movement of honey bees within the United States and require a permit or health certificate to do so. Four states, Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota and Oregon, have no regulations on the movement of bees, according to research published in 2022. Another eight states have no regulations requiring permits or health certificates for the interstate movement of bees. Africanized honey bees aren't all bad Scientists who study bees emphasize that while Africanized honey bees are more defensive, they hold a lot of promise for overall honey bee health because they're more pest and disease resistant and are very genetically diverse. That's important because honey bees play a critical role in agriculture and the environment and have been subject to large die-offs in the past two decades. In 2017, one-third of the nation's hives perished. Breeding and even gene manipulation could result in better – and gentler – bees, said Ellis. "Although they have heightened defensive behaviors, science may be able to maximize their positive traits and minimize their negative traits," he said. What should you do if you encounter an Africanized honeybee hive? Because of their highly defensive nature, if you encounter aggressive bees, the best response is to leave – fast. "Get away as quickly as possible. Don't jump in water, don't swat with your arms. Just run away as as fast as you can," said Ellis. "You might want to pull your shirt up around your nose and mouth to protect against stings that could cause swelling of your airway." In general, the biggest threats are to tethered or penned livestock and pets that can't get away as well as humans using heavy equipment who accidentally get too close to a hive without being able to hear the angry buzzing of the bees. Once you've evacuated the area, call for professional help. "If you're in a rural area, it's very likely these bees have been Africanized," said Rangel. Nobody should try to deal with a colony on their own "just to save a few bucks," she said. "You don't want to mess with them."
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Las Vegas beekeeper's death drives call for safety
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas beekeeper's death is causing his family to express caution about a bee that has put Nevada under quarantine. On May 10, Scott Stromme, 62, was found lying on the floor of his home, allegedly stung to death after possibly knocking over a container of bees. His father, Phillip Stromme, said he discovered Scott only after several attempts at calling him. '[I] went around the front door, opened that up, went in,' he said. 'And I knew right then he was in a place you don't want to be.' His son was cold to the touch and not moving, allegedly welled up from possible bee stings. Phillip said he saw his son's beekeeping hat was set to the side around hundreds of dead bees. 'I have no idea, and had to put two and two together,' Phillip said. Scott was a jack of all trades with a penchant for picking up a new talent at a quick pace and treating each job with an incredible amount of responsibility, according to Phillip. 'You have a job here, and a job there, and he started out working at the Rio in a shop there,' Phillip said. 'And he stood guard outside, but he looked like a guard at the palace in England with a tall hat.' Friends still call Scott's phone according to Phillip who said his daughter has broken the news to several of Scott's acquaintances, pals, and clients. 'My daughter's been getting an awful lot of phone calls on his phone,' he said. Phillip said it's heartbreaking what happened to his son and warned others should express caution when around certain types of bees. The State of Nevada has been under a quarantine for the Africanized Honeybees, according to state law, but that hasn't stopped trained beekeepers from answering the calls from concerned homeowners. 'So that [quarantine] means that they're more aggressive,' Daniel Millett, operations manager for Bee Master of Las Vegas, said. 'They respond with more bees than our domiciled, domestic bees that we've trained for 1200 or 1500 years to be nice and produce a lot of honey.' The Africanized Honeybees do not produce as much honey as their more well known and temperate counterparts, according to Millett. 'All these Africanized bees are buck wild,' he said. 'They think everything's a rhino or a hippo.' Millett found out about what happened to Stromme and said the incident was awful but also allowed for a chance to remind residents about the danger of certain types of bees. 'When this poor fellow started to work with his bees, whatever gear he had on, they overwhelmed him,' he said. 'And it's a darn shame that it happened.' Millett said residents with any concerns or issue with bees can find licensed beekeepers through the Nevada Department of Agriculture. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A Texas man was mowing his property when a swarm of bees attacked. He died soon after.
A Texas man has died after being attacked by a swarm of bees. Steven William Daniel of Cisco died on April 27 in Eastland, Texas, about 130 miles southwest of Dallas, according to an incident report obtained by USA TODAY on Monday. Eastland Police Department officers responding to a call about a crashed vehicle found Daniel swarmed by the bees, the agency said in a news release. Officers took Daniel out of his truck and put him in a police car until an ambulance could arrive and take him to a hospital. During the ambulance ride, Daniel stopped breathing and became unresponsive, the department said. Although Daniel, 66, was not allergic to bees, he died later that evening of circulator collapse from the bee stings, according to the incident report. Circulatory collapse, or circulatory shock, occurs when the body's circulation system is compromised, resulting in inadequate blood flow to the body's vital organs. Cyd Daniel, Daniel's wife, told Texas television station KTAB/KRBC that her husband had been mowing a property they owned in Eastland when he encountered the bees. Over the seven years the couple owned the property, he had never had an issue with bees, Cyd said. Bee swarm: Bees attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn't give up' Cyd described her late husband to KTAB/KRBC as funny and quiet, someone who believe in safety first. "I believe this happened for a reason, and I think it's to warn the rest of us," Cyd told the local television station. "And if it helps one person or one kid or people at a birthday party, then he helped. He made a difference." Cyd did not immediately respond when contacted by USA TODAY on May 19. Another fatal bee attack in region happened less than two weeks after Daniel's death. On May 9, a swarm of what are believed to be Africanized honey bees, also known as killer bees, attacked and killed three horses in Comanche, Texas, just about 50 miles southeast of Eastland. That attack involved millions of bees that also attacked the owner of the horses. "They attacked me as soon as I got outside," Baillie Hillman told USA TODAY. "They were in my ears, my glasses, my hair." She escaped and got back inside. It's unclear what kind of bees attacked Daniel. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 72 people died from hornet, wasp and bee stings each year between 2011 and 2021. Spring is a busy time for bees. They're emerging to forage, reproduce and sometimes, look for a new home, Texas Beeworks founder Erika Thompson told USA TODAY. If you encounter bees this spring, the best thing to do is stay calm. Avoid sudden movements, swatting and loud noises because bees are sensitive to vibrations, Thompson said. Thompson said if you are stung by a bee, remove the stinger as soon as possible because it can continue to release venom even after the sting. Regularly inspect your property for gaps, cracks or open vents − areas that bees can squeeze into, Thompson said. Seal any unwanted openings with fine mesh, caulk or weather stripping. If you find a hive in an unwanted area on your property, contact a local beekeeper or bee removal specialist for ethical relocation. Don't try to handle the hive on your own. Maintenance: Here's how to get rid of bees around your home Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas man mowing grass dies after being attacked by swarm of bees
USA Today
19-05-2025
- Health
- USA Today
A Texas man was mowing his property when a swarm of bees attacked. He died soon after.
A Texas man was mowing his property when a swarm of bees attacked. He died soon after. Steven William Daniel died after he was swarmed by bees while mowing his property in Eastland. On average, about 72 people died from hornet, wasp and bee stings each year between 2011 and 2021. Show Caption Hide Caption Warmer temperatures could put western honey bees at risk Warmer temperatures could put western honey bees at risk of collapse. Researchers at Washington State University and the Department of Agriculture point to warmer autumns and winters causing big problems. Fox - Seattle A Texas man has died after being attacked by a swarm of bees. Steven William Daniel of Cisco died on April 27 in Eastland, Texas, about 130 miles southwest of Dallas, according to an incident report obtained by USA TODAY on Monday. Eastland Police Department officers responding to a call about a crashed vehicle found Daniel swarmed by the bees, the agency said in a news release. Officers took Daniel out of his truck and put him in a police car until an ambulance could arrive and take him to a hospital. During the ambulance ride, Daniel stopped breathing and became unresponsive, the department said. Although Daniel, 66, was not allergic to bees, he died later that evening of circulator collapse from the bee stings, according to the incident report. Circulatory collapse, or circulatory shock, occurs when the body's circulation system is compromised, resulting in inadequate blood flow to the body's vital organs. Cyd Daniel, Daniel's wife, told Texas television station KTAB/KRBC that her husband had been mowing a property they owned in Eastland when he encountered the bees. Over the seven years the couple owned the property, he had never had an issue with bees, Cyd said. Bee swarm: Bees attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn't give up' Cyd described her late husband to KTAB/KRBC as funny and quiet, someone who believe in safety first. "I believe this happened for a reason, and I think it's to warn the rest of us," Cyd told the local television station. "And if it helps one person or one kid or people at a birthday party, then he helped. He made a difference." Cyd did not immediately respond when contacted by USA TODAY on May 19. More bees attack in region Another fatal bee attack in region happened less than two weeks after Daniel's death. On May 9, a swarm of what are believed to be Africanized honey bees, also known as killer bees, attacked and killed three horses in Comanche, Texas, just about 50 miles southeast of Eastland. That attack involved millions of bees that also attacked the owner of the horses. "They attacked me as soon as I got outside," Baillie Hillman told USA TODAY. "They were in my ears, my glasses, my hair." She escaped and got back inside. It's unclear what kind of bees attacked Daniel. How many people die from bee stings each year? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 72 people died from hornet, wasp and bee stings each year between 2011 and 2021. Keeping safe around bees this spring Spring is a busy time for bees. They're emerging to forage, reproduce and sometimes, look for a new home, Texas Beeworks founder Erika Thompson told USA TODAY. If you encounter bees this spring, the best thing to do is stay calm. Avoid sudden movements, swatting and loud noises because bees are sensitive to vibrations, Thompson said. Thompson said if you are stung by a bee, remove the stinger as soon as possible because it can continue to release venom even after the sting. Regularly inspect your property for gaps, cracks or open vents − areas that bees can squeeze into, Thompson said. Seal any unwanted openings with fine mesh, caulk or weather stripping. If you find a hive in an unwanted area on your property, contact a local beekeeper or bee removal specialist for ethical relocation. Don't try to handle the hive on your own. Maintenance: Here's how to get rid of bees around your home Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas: 'They didn't give up'
Baillie Hillman knew something wasn't right. In the cool spring morning, she had put three horses out on the fresh grass of her front yard. Now, instead of grazing, the horses were standing still, heads down – a large cloud of flies surrounding them. "When she went outside, she realized it was actually bees," said Shane Stalnacker, administrative officer with the Comanche Volunteer Fire Department in Texas. The huge swarm was attacking. Over the course of that morning on May 9, Hillman, her partner James Ramirez, firefighters from two counties, emergency medical technicians and veterinarians would fight to protect the horses from the bees, believed to be Africanized honey bees — known as killer bees. Despite all their efforts, they would fail. All three horses succumbed to the attack and died. When the yard was finally cleared of bees, thanks to Stalnacker's quick thinking and a bottle of Dawn dish soap, the cause was discovered. A tree at the edge of their property was infested with the bees. When it was cut down the next day, authorities discovered just how many bees they'd been dealing with. "The hive was approximately seven feet long. There were millions of bees in there," said Stalnacker. When Hillman ran out to check on the horses, she immediately realized it was not flies but bees that were attacking them. "They attacked me as soon as I got outside," said Hillman. "They were in my ears, my glasses, my hair," She went back inside to call first Ramirez and then 911. The Comanche Volunteer Fire Department, local emergency services and sheriff's officers arrived to help, finding swarms of what they believe were Africanized honey bees in the area where the horses were standing. "We haven't had it confirmed that they were Africanized, but everyone's saying they couldn't imagine it being anything else due to their sheer numbers and their extremely aggressive behavior. They didn't give up," said Hillman. "We got assistance from the Guthrie Volunteer Fire Department, who brought bee suits," Stalnacker said. He also thought to ask them to bring some Dawn dishwashing soap so it could be mixed in with water to spray on the bees and the hive, to make them unable to fly. The soap was added to the firetruck's water tank and the horses were sprayed with soapy water which killed the bees. "The Comanche firefighters and Ramierez donned the bee suits and proceeded to do what they could to clear the bees that remained on the horses," he said. In the process, one of them kicked Ramirez but he continued working to save the animals. The horses were finally moved away from the bees, but sustained tens of thousands of stings, many of them around the their eyes nostrils and mouths. "Their bodies were covered in welts," said Hillman. A local veterinarian and vet tech arrived to treat the horses but unfortunately, their injuries from the massive numbers of bee stings were too great and all three horses died. 'I just hope the story can get out there so people can be aware,' said Hillman. 'You hear that the Africanized bees are here and that they're around but you don't realize what that means. If they can kill three horses, what could they do to kids or an elderly person that can't run.' "They just had tens of thousands of stings all over their bodies," Hillman said. The three were all American quarter horses, nine-year-old Clovis, five-year-old Pepper and six-year-old Ace. "James is a rodeo cowboy with the PRCA Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association. I compete as an amateur," said Hillman. "Pepper was my up-and-coming carrel horse, Clovis was my team roping horse. Ace was James' up-and-coming calf roping horse," she said. Clovis died in the couple's backyard within hours. "His head swelled up and we think he died of a seizure," she said. Both Ace and Pepper made it to the veterinarian. Despite working on Ace for 45 minutes, they were unable to save her from massive seizures and eventually had to euthanize her. Pepper's throat swelled up so much the veterinarian had to perform a tracheotomy so she could breath. But after a day, she too ended up having seizures and died. After some hours the authorities were able to work out what had happened. The grass in the front lawn had been allowed to grow uncut during the spring, for the horses, so the owners had not been out into the area to inspect it. Next door, the neighbors had just mowed their lawn early that morning. "Bees are pretty dormant in the cool mornings, then when the temperature started to warm up, the bees came out and were upset and they found the horses and attacked them," said Stalnacker. The hive was discovered in a tree just at the property line between the two houses. A beekeeper who came to take down the hive told the couple he believed it might have been an existing honey bee hive that was taken over by killer bees. Known as usurpation, Africanized honey bees are known to do this, killing the resident queen. Prior to the attack, Hillman said she'd never once been stung by a bee. The bees are believed to be Africanized, a cross between local honey bees and African honey bees that first appeared in 1956, when a beekeeper in Brazil accidentally released 26 Tanzanian queen bees and their swarms into the wild. The bees had been brought from Africa in an attempt to increase honey production. Once they escaped, they thrived. While similar in appearance to common honey bees, the African bees are much more dangerous. They have a high tendency to swarm and exhibit highly defensive behavior, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By the early 1990s Africanized bees began showing up in the southern United States and have now been found in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Invasive Species Information Center. Killer bees have been seen in the area before, said Stalnacker. "Last year an individual was clearing some land and disturbed a hollow tree that had bees in it and they went after him," he said. "They placed the gentleman in the back of a truck and they raced down the road – it was half a mile before the bees gave up." (This story has been updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bees swarm, attack and kill 3 horses in Texas
