Incident List

A 2009 Review-Journal article states that in 1998 a rottweiler left on a leash in a backyard was killed by bees. Exact date and original source need follow-up.

A BeeRescue archived article reference reports that Pat Starr, a new Venice resident, lost her 2-year-old puppy to bees. The record is retained as a historical animal-fatality lead pending stronger date/source confirmation.

A 2009 Review-Journal/AP article states that a 77-year-old Las Vegas woman was stung about 500 times in 2000 and survived. The exact date and original source remain to be verified.

A 2009 Review-Journal/AP article states that a horse in Pahrump was killed by an angry swarm in 2003. The exact date and detailed source still need follow-up.

A 2006 public forum post quoting a Miami Herald context article described a Hendry County incident near LaBelle in which a horse was attacked while being washed, with bees covering the animal’s head and face. The original article/date should be verified later.

A St. Bernard Parish house being demolished after Hurricane Katrina contained Africanized hybrid bees. The bees reportedly drove away demolition contractors and beekeepers before mosquito-control workers killed them; the state agriculture department confirmed the Africanized strain.

OSU Extension reports that 43 Oklahoma counties had confirmed Africanized honey bee populations by DNA analysis in the 2014 updated map, showing broader establishment beyond the original Tillman County confirmation.

A 73-year-old man was recovering at Baptist Medical Center after being attacked by bees while doing yard work on the Northwest Side of San Antonio.

Two surveying employees were creating topographic maps of an area. One used a machete to cut a path through dense terrain about 15 feet ahead of the other, who noticed bees and yelled for both to run. The lead employee was overwhelmed by bees in his face and hands, impairing his vision as both tried to flee through the terrain, tripping over vines. He died of bee stings; cause pending medical examiner report at time of filing.

A Tucson running club encountered a large swarm while running off-trail near Tanque Verde Ridge. A 46-year-old man was airlifted by helicopter after roughly 400 stings and admitted overnight; a 37-year-old was ground-transported after about 100 stings, treated and released same day. Six to eight additional runners were stung, some up to 30 times, none requiring further treatment.

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry reported that nine Africanized bee swarms had been intercepted at state ports since 1988, including in shipping containers, barges, and ships.

KRGV reported that a man was pronounced dead after being attacked by bees outside the Tierra Bonita community. Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino said the man was doing work in the area when the attack happened.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue responded to a man being attacked by bees in an open field; officials said he was taken to a hospital after more than 150 stings.

Reports describe a family of four and two dogs attacked after a homeowner in Glendale attempted to remove a beehive from a shed. Sources using Peoria wording appear to be referring to the Peoria Avenue area rather than the city of Peoria.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Venom One reportedly responded to a home with more than 10,000 bees and helped remove a man and two dogs safely.

An 11-year-old boy was stung more than 400 times after he and a friend disturbed a hidden hive in an old vehicle while shooting BB guns. He was treated at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and first responders were stung during the rescue.

A large swarm near Pasadena City College sent five people to the hospital, including two firefighters and a police officer; several sources described the bees as Africanized.

CBS reported that an angry swarm stung a dog more than 300 times in Norco, killing the dog and her three puppies. Firefighters foamed a hollowed-out tree; two adults were taken to the hospital after being stung a few dozen times.

ABC7 reported that a hive of killer bees in a pepper tree attacked a neighbor and her two dogs. Another woman tried to help and was also attacked. One dog died a few days later, another dog survived, both women went to the emergency room, and firefighters used foam and sheltered one victim in a fire truck.

Multiple people, including children and firefighters, were stung in a Surprise neighborhood; one man was hospitalized.

Santa Rita Fire District responded to a bee attack call in Green Valley after a man was being stung by a large swarm.

Two people were hospitalized, two dogs died, and multiple people were stung after very aggressive bees attacked residents at a North Texas home; firefighters used foam to control the bees and allow escape.

12-year-old Dustin Taylor, known to be allergic to bee stings since toddlerhood, swatted at what he thought was a fly while walking home, triggering an attack from a hive in a dead tree branch. He was saved by pure chance: paramedics and a CHP officer were already on scene nearby for an unrelated car accident and reached him within a block, administering anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers before hospital transport. Nurses spent 40 minutes removing 25 stingers from his body; his mother and grandmother counted 'in excess of 60' total marks. A county agricultural official noted Africanized bee attacks were then still infrequent in Kern County.

An elderly woman and five firefighters were hospitalized after an aggressive attack by tens of thousands of Africanized honey bees near Palm Desert.

A woman was hospitalized after being stung; three dogs died after a large bee attack involving hives in hollow wall spaces/condo structure. Approximately 30 firefighters responded.

Keith Abbe, a Peoria schoolteacher and karate instructor who had just moved to Arizona from Michigan, was on his first-ever outdoor rock climb with best friend Jess Passage on Camelback's Hart Route when bees attacked from a hive near the top. Running out of rope while down-climbing to escape, the pair untied and continued down unroped; Abbe slipped and fell about 50 feet. Passage, stung roughly 100 times, watched his friend fall and was hospitalized in stable condition. An American Alpine Club incident report from the surviving climber ('Jeff' - likely a pseudonym or the AAC report's byline differs from the news account's 'Jess Passage') provides an extraordinarily detailed first-person account of the incident, including that a prior 2001 Camelback bee attack had caused a climber's fall resulting in broken vertebrae.

Two Picnic Island Park employees, Rodney Pugh and David Zeledon, were hospitalized after disturbing a colony in an old truck tire while clearing trash/debris near Port Tampa. Reports described up to 100,000 Africanized honey bees and nearly 100 stings each before the men escaped.

A swarm described as Africanized bees attacked a triplex, repeatedly stinging one person who was taken to the hospital in serious condition; another resident sheltered inside.

FOX 10 reported that an aggressive swarm in Glendale attacked a mother and baby along with the family dog and its litter of six puppies; one puppy was missing after the attack and another reportedly suffered the most serious sting injuries.

OSHA reported that a plasterer applying finish coat to a retaining wall at a residential construction site ran from a swarm of bees, slipped, and fell over the wall, resulting in arm and elbow fractures and a three-day hospitalization.

KSNV reported that a worker on or near a utility pole was stung hundreds of times and transported in critical condition. Two other people were stung, and two firefighters were injured; one firefighter was transported to a hospital. A local bee professional said the bees were likely Africanized.

City officials said two dogs were killed after Africanized honey bees attacked the dogs and some people in McAllen.

NBC 6 South Florida reported that George Williams and his German Shepherd were chased and stung by thousands of Africanized killer bees in Miami Gardens. Williams survived after being stung repeatedly; the dog did not survive. The article said a historic oak was packed with killer bees.

A 53-year-old man operating a backhoe disturbed a boulder covering a large Africanized honey bee colony and was stung hundreds to possibly a couple thousand times. Firefighters used water to knock bees off him, and he remained hospitalized in intensive care.

A 77-year-old Las Vegas woman was critically injured after being stung more than 500 times near Maryland Parkway and U.S. 95. Fire officials described the bees as Africanized honey bees in contemporary coverage.

A bee swarm disrupted an Arizona State women’s lacrosse game against Florida. ASU postponed the game due to bee swarms; local reporting said multiple people were stung and one person was transported to the hospital in stable condition.

KCRA reported that a 53-year-old beekeeper harvesting honey in Ceres triggered a swarm that killed a neighboring dog, injured the beekeeper and a firefighter, and led to a shelter-in-place order affecting about 45 homes.

A man was stung more than 100 times while trying to protect his dog after bees nested behind a power box at a Viera home.

A southwest Houston homeowner reported that an aggressive bee colony in the wall of his home killed two adult dogs and their litter of puppies; the bees also attacked the homeowner and neighbors.

Phoenix and Glendale crews rescued a hiker near Lookout Mountain after he reported more than 100 stings and could not descend; he was hoisted by helicopter and transported in critical condition.

Three men were hospitalized after being swarmed while attempting to take honey from a wild hive; a nearby woman was also stung.

A bee attack on a small south Las Vegas Valley street sent two people to the hospital and killed one dog, according to Clark County Fire Department reporting cited by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Surprise Fire-Medical Department reported a woman in her 60s was walking through a neighborhood when a swarm attacked her. She sustained about 50 stings and was transported to the hospital.

Robert E. Davis, 51, died after being stung more than 100 times by bees state officials described as likely/high-probability Africanized honey bees.

A man in Eagle Pass, Maverick County was found unconscious on his patio and died at the hospital; cause of death attributed to Africanized bee stings.

KTNV reported that Anne Wayman and her dog Alfie were chased about a quarter mile by aggressive bees at Cottonwood Canyon Park. Wayman reported eight stings; Alfie reportedly suffered about 20 stings and needed emergency veterinary care.

Phoenix Fire reported a man was stung multiple times near 7th Street and Thomas Road and transported to the hospital. Follow-up reporting identified the victim as a 70-year-old landscaper clearing weeds who was hospitalized for nearly a week after dozens of stings.

A pet Rottweiler in West Park may have been killed by Africanized honey bees, according to a report citing Florida Department of Agriculture context.

Review-Journal reported that a dog died and three people were stung after bees attacked a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood. Firefighters asked residents to shelter in place, and the homeowner was asked to call an exterminator to locate the nearby hive.

Thomas Hicks, 70, died after an aggressive swarm attacked while he was mowing; his wife was also stung and hospitalized, and firefighters used protective gear during the response.