Huge Truck Carrying Bees Overturns, Expert Warns Escaped Swarm 'Could Be Anywhere'
A swarm of bees is on the loose in Oklahoma after a Tuesday morning accident.
The bees escaped after the truck in which they were being transported overturned near Hugo, Oklahoma, a community in Choctaw County, according to KOKI-TV.
The truck rolled over on its side at the U.S. Highway 271 and U.S. Highway 70 bypass.
Choctaw County Emergency Management Director Pat Collins said the accident was reported at 5:45 a.m.
A beekeeper who was brought in to help said the bees could be anywhere, according to Collins. Residents of Hugo were warned to be on the lookout for the swarm.
Collins said that they are trying to recruit some nearby experienced beekeepers to help move the bees who had not escaped into another truck.
Beekeeper Sara Richmond estimated the numbers of bees at “Hundreds of thousands… millions!” according to KTEN-TV.
“In normal circumstances, if you see a lot of bees, that’s typically a swarm … and they’re safe,” Richmond said.
“This is a unique situation,” she said. “Bees typically are not very aggressive. These are not Africanized bees; they’re just upset because their home is disturbed.”
Richmond said the warm weather may make the bees who did not escape a tad angry.
“As it’s getting hotter, the bees are going to get more agitated. They’re going to be trying to leave. We’re trying to keep them cool… keep the community safe as they’re driving by,” Richmond said.
The truck driver requested attention from EMS.
The owner of the bees has been notified of the accident.
The Oklahoma accident was not the only time bees have made the news this week.
In Omaha, Nebraska, Thomas and Marylu Gouttierre, said that about 6,000 bees were recently removed from inside the walls of their 100-year-old home, according to ABC.
Omaha couple who planted ‘bee-friendly’ flowers discover thousands of bees in their WALL https://t.co/w9AqZjQ4bt
— Nybreaking (@Newyorkbreaking) June 21, 2022
The bees are suspected of sneaking in through a hole in the mortar between the house’s bricks.
“If you put your ears to the wall you could hear the buzzing,” Thomas Gouttierre said.
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