Swarm Of Nearly 40,000 Bees Sends 5 Californian's To Hospital

[Sugar Cookie]

A swarm of bees sent five people to a California hospital Thursday, including two firefighters and a police officer, reports said.

Responding to a call about a person with a bee sting, authorities arrived on the scene, only to discover the “whole block was covered with an influx of bees," according to Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

First responders saw a large amount of bees about a block long buzzing around both sides of the street, Derderian told the Los Angeles Times.

While treating a patient at the scene, one firefighter sustained multiple bee stings, the newspaper reported.

Pasadena has seen bee swarms in the past, but “nothing to this magnitude,” Derderian said.

Meanwhile, a police officer assisting the fire department with crowd and traffic control also was stung multiple times, Pasadena police spokesman Lt. Bill Grisafe said. The officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

An apiarist who responded to the incident safely removed the hive with an assist from firefighters as he used a ladder truck to reach the colony before spraying carbon dioxide and foam into the nest. He estimated there were 30,000 to 40,000 bees and told authorities the colony consisted of Africanized bees, the Times reported.

Swarm of nearly 40,000 bees in California send 5 to hospital

A swarm of bees sent five people to a California hospital Thursday, including two firefighters and a police officer, multiple media reports said.

www.foxnews.com

 

[VLGRDSPLY]

and there are people on Twitter saying that calling them Africanized bee's is racist ....

But could you imaging seeing that swarm come at you! Fuck that!

 

[MildlyMedicated]

Angry bees.... pissed off angry bees..... pissed off angry stingy bees.
NOPE !

 

[Keepalowprofile]

He estimated there were 30,000 to 40,000 bees and told authorities the colony consisted of Africanized bees, the Times reported.

Exactly what I was thinking as I read this.

 

[Eleven]

So who sent them to us?

 

[Sejanus]

Allergic to bees and wasps.
Another reason to stay in Canada.

My preferred term for them is killer bees.

 

[Satanica]

So who sent them to us?

You can blame it on Brazil.

The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanized honey bee, and known colloquially as the "killer bee", is a hybrid of the western honey bee species (Apis mellifera), produced originally by cross-breeding of the East African lowland honey bee (A. m. scutellata) with various European honey bees such as the Italian honey bee A. m. ligustica and the Iberian honey bee A. m. iberiensis.

The Africanized honey bee was first introduced to Brazil in 1956 in an effort to increase honey production, but 26 swarms escaped quarantine in 1957. Since then, the hybrid has spread throughout South America and arrived in North America in 1985. Hives were found in south Texas in the United States in 1990.[1]

Africanized bees are typically much more defensive than other varieties of honey bee, and react to disturbances faster than European honey bees. They can chase a person a quarter of a mile (400 m); they have killed some 1,000 humans, with victims receiving ten times more stings than from European honey bees.[1] They have also killed horses and other animals.[2][3]
[....]

Africanized bee - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Brillig]

I'm confused why someone would need to go to the hospital for a few bee stings, unless they were allergic?

 

[Alf]

I'm confused why someone would need to go to the hospital for a few bee stings, unless they were allergic?

Africanized bees are quick to attack, attack en masse, and do not break off the attack until the victim is dead or driven a long way away from the hive. A trespass that might draw a dozen non-hybridized bees to attack can easily draw scores of hybridized bees. The sheer volume of venom injected can be dangerous, apart from any allergies the victim has.

--Al

 

[Satanica]

Brillig, it's because it probably wasn't just a few bee stings. Africanized bees don't just send out a small crew to deal with interlopers. The entire hive attacks. Nor can you escape into the water; they'll just wait for you to emerge.

What makes "killer" bees so deadly?

Population growth is leading to more "killer" bee attacks

www.cbsnews.com