Utah Bee Spill: Millions Of Insects Escape From Overturned Tractor-Trailer

SALT LAKE CITY -- A truck hauling millions of bees overturned in southern Utah and authorities are trying to capture the swarming insects.

The Deseret News says the tractor-trailer was carrying an estimated 25 million bees when it overturned on Interstate 15 near St. George Sunday evening.

There was no immediate word on how many of the bees escaped but authorities were consulting with the Utah Department of Agriculture to determine how to capture or eliminate them.

KTVX-TV reports that the driver of the semi and a passenger were transported to a local hospital due to injuries caused by the bees. Authorities are recommending drivers in the area to keep windows closed.

The crash closed the southbound lanes of I-15 for several hours Sunday night

Comments

[NAVRETRD]

10:21 AM on 10/25/2011

Leave the dan bees alone,We need them and they will move off to establish new homes. just try yo find the queens !

[lunarsnowstorm]

07:17 AM on 10/25/2011

I don't think this story is Buzz worthy.

[jchowell3657]

01:13 AM on 10/25/2011

I have some poor quality video of the event...it's a bee movie.

[ironchefjay2]

12:56 AM on 10/25/2011

I would have loved to have seen the look of sheer trepidation on the cops face that got the call to go to this accident. You know it had to have been funny.

[ericg10101]

12:12 AM on 10/25/2011

This story is making me break out in hives...

[armybrat46]

12:06 AM on 10/25/2011

I missed that they said eliminate them. The US government is nuts. We have had a big decline in bees we need everyone of them. Without bees there is no food. Can you imagen if the farmers had to hand pollinate the vegtables and fruits. Food prices would increase dramatically. The feds need to stay out of it.

[Ursula Amon]

09:15 AM on 10/25/2011

When I read the word "eliminate" I thought oh no! Here we go again. Bees escape, authorities don't know how to handle this situation. Well, we'll do what we always do when confronted by something from nature we're unsure of. Eliminate! You're so right about the plight of bees. Pesticides, etc. have reduced populations and we need them all. I would surely think locals could be wary for awhile but let nature take it's course and let them create new colonies. They don't want to attack every person they see, they'll disperse, they want to be left alone to do what bees do...

[foxisms]

11:48 PM on 10/24/2011

I love stories about how creatures born free on this planet "escape" because they return to where they came from and where they belong when someone thinks they have a better position for them than nature intended..
These are bees fer chrissake, not human beings!!
They're fully aware of where they belong.

[TheByrd]

10:45 PM on 10/24/2011

The bees will not survive without a queen and a hive structure. They are not solitary and cannot fend individually.

[armybrat46]

12:02 AM on 10/25/2011

A queen bee is a ordinary worker bee who was fed the royal jelly from birth. The royal is produced by worker bees. So they don't need a queen they can make their own. As far as hives go, I have bees that build a hive underground on my property, they enter and leave through a small hole in the ground. Bees don't live that long, may be a good idea to set up hives in the area, to give them a head start.

[smiz]

10:11 PM on 10/24/2011

Set their hives up and let them return...get a bee keeper there to supervise...

[Numbsie]

08:32 PM on 10/24/2011

Whats all the buzz about?

[clydi3]

07:25 PM on 10/24/2011

25,000,000 bees is about 1000 hives. I know that sounds like a lot but it isn't.

[smeeg]

06:55 PM on 10/24/2011

bees are wonderful creatures!

[Bob Clifton]

06:28 PM on 10/24/2011

Mind your own beeswax!

[mwmes]

04:11 PM on 10/24/2011

From the photo they look like honeybees. If they are, then why would anybody eliminate these vital insects? The USA has already seen an alarming decline in the honeybee population, needed to pollinate our crops, (No Bees = No Food). It may be a minor inconvenience in the immediate area but one would expect the bees to spread out. Not sure of the climate in Salt Lake City, hopefully warm enough for the bees to prepare for winter.

[KadyFox]

04:01 AM on 10/25/2011

That might just be a stock photo of bees. Do we know what kind of bees got out?

[robert hammers]

02:11 PM on 10/24/2011

"eliminate them??!!" Heed these words of wisdom- let them bee. Remember que sera, sera (what will bee will bee)

[fisher2737]

03:09 PM on 10/24/2011

"Whatever will be-will be" Doris Day 1956, i think