Incident List

At Clewiston, Florida, an excavator operator struck an abandoned water pipe containing a hive of Africanized bees and died from multiple stings, anaphylactic shock, and cardiac arrest.

A man in Cape Coral was hospitalized after a swarm of bees attacked from an unmaintained underground transformer box owned by Lee County Electric Cooperative in a field behind an apartment complex. Exterminators from Tony’s Pest Control said the swarm was made up of Africanized bees.

Fire crews responding to free a man trapped under a large tree were stung while preparing the rescue; they suited up, completed the rescue, and EMS transported the trapped man to a hospital.

Jon Christian was stung more than 100 times during a tree-trimming job after hitting a beehive and fell about 30 feet from a bucket truck.

Several Queen Creek Junior High School students and staff were stung by bees during a fire drill. ABC15 reported Queen Creek Fire and Medical responded, four students were treated at the scene, and no hospital transport was needed.

CBS Los Angeles reported that a Covina family returned home and found two German Shepherd-mix rescue dogs covered with bee stings and surrounded by dead bees. One dog died and the other was under veterinary care; CBS later reported inspectors located a nest about 100 yards away.

A Miami man was reportedly found dead in a room with about 60,000 swarming bees. The article indicates he may have been trying to duct tape a hole to prevent bees from escaping.

Approximately 20 students at Highland Middle School encountered a hive hidden in an underground irrigation box during outdoor PE activities. Four students were taken by ambulance to the hospital and several others were treated at the scene.

Entomological tests confirmed Africanized honey bees were responsible for the death of an elderly Dougherty County man who disturbed a feral colony with equipment and received more than 100 stings.

A historical summary reports that a 66-year-old man became Arizona’s second Africanized honey bee fatality on October 18, 1995, after being stung approximately 130 times near Phoenix. Needs original source and victim name before public merge.

At a Yuma-area farm-labor worksite, an employee harvesting lemons was stung multiple times by bees and died.

During a Longmeadow eviction, a beekeeper allegedly agitated and released hives toward deputies; several deputies and staff were stung and one staff member was taken to the hospital.

KENS 5 reported that a landscaper was hospitalized after a bee attack while mowing in Kirby on Oct. 8. Police were forced to take shelter, an exterminator was later swarmed, and officials restricted part of the neighborhood road. The Express-News corroborated the intersection closure and insects swarming officers as they assisted the injured man. No responder or exterminator hospitalization has been established. Viewer-reported Oct. 9 television follow-up showed a camera inside the colony cavity with no bees visible after exterminator treatment.

A grandmother was covered in bees and hospitalized with more than 100 stingers removed; a retired doctor/good Samaritan and a child were also stung after a hive disturbance at Fairbrook Park.

A massive swarm from an attic colony attacked landscapers; reports state one worker died, another was critically injured, and multiple others were stung. Estimates of colony size vary from 300,000 to 800,000 bees.

KOAT reported that a New Mexico State University entomologist confirmed Africanized honey bees at a home in a subdivision northwest of Santa Fe. The report noted the bees had spread to 12 New Mexico counties and were expected to remain established in the state.

Two women in their 70s were hospitalized after a groundskeeper apparently disturbed a hive with a lawnmower at a Laguna Woods golf course.

Historical summaries identify 88-year-old Mary Williams of Apache Junction as the first Arizona human fatality from Africanized honey bees. She was reportedly stung more than 1,000 times outside her home.

An employee driving a tractor while mulching cuttings on a road was attacked by a swarm of bees along with two coworkers. He died of cardiac arrest due to his allergy to bee stings. OSHA cited the employer for two other-than-serious violations.

ABC15 reported that four dogs were being attacked by a large swarm from a nearby hive when Rural Metro and Pinal County deputies arrived. One dog died, another was critical but expected to recover, and two others were injured.

A 20-year-old roofer was stung 50 to 75 times while removing shingles from a Costa Mesa roof. A neighbor who came to investigate was also stung. Both were hospitalized; firefighters found an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 bees in a long-established hive under the shingles.

NMSU describes New Mexico's first Africanized honey bee encounter in October 1993 after a rancher in Hidalgo County reported persistent stinging attacks at a cattle corral. The colony had established in an old tire used to hold salt.

Willcox Fire-Rescue responded near Quick Silver Road and Cattle Drive after several people were stung or trapped inside a home. One victim inside had 50 to 100 stings, was described as somewhat incoherent and was taken by ambulance for hospital evaluation. Two other people reported 15 to 25 stings. Bees continued attacking inside the home and stung first responders.

Goodyear firefighters responded to a residence near Sarival Avenue and Van Buren Street after three people were stung. One person sustained more than 100 stings and was hospitalized in stable condition; two others declined transport. Firefighters used foam on the colony, and professional removal was advised.

Emergency crews responded to a home near Fort Grant Road and MacDonald Drive after a dog was killed in a bee attack. The incident was one of several serious attacks reported in the Willcox area during the same period.

A semi truck hauling honey bees overturned on I-35 near Pauls Valley, scattering hives and releasing a large swarm. Beekeepers and law enforcement worked to gather the bees; reports describe patrol vehicles being swarmed and at least one deputy trapped in a cruiser with minor sting exposure.

A Scottsdale man was stung more than 100 times on Sept. 28, 2021 and died Oct. 18. Initial reports described hospitalization after the attack; follow-up reporting linked the death to the bee attack.

Two people were taken to the hospital after a swarm attack in Banning; one victim reportedly had more than 100 stings.

Four Luma Energy employees were repairing a damaged power line in a wooded area; a hazard assessment had already flagged bee activity near the poles, but the crew chose to work from the ground without bee suits, citing heat-stress risk over sting risk. One worker, left behind briefly to manage a fallen cable, was swarmed. His coworkers found him on the ground covered in bees but could not administer first aid because their bee suits were in the work vehicle, not on their persons.

Lonnie Dorsey, 72, was swarmed by bees from a hollowed-out tree while mowing his lawn; his partner Patricia Byrns, 74, was also stung while trying to help. Dorsey, who had a bee allergy, was hospitalized in critical condition and died roughly two weeks later. Bee removal experts identified the colony as typical (non-Africanized) honey bees, not the more defensive Africanized strain.

A beekeeper was hospitalized after being stung more than 300 times while attempting to relocate a hive near Safford. Local reporting quoted Safford Fire Chief Clark Bingham and described a police officer and fire response used to extract the victim.

Two unrelated bee attacks occurred hours apart on the same residential block. A man cutting grass was found unresponsive with an obstructed airway; a woman at a nearby home was separately attacked later the same day. Firefighters located the second hive hidden inside an abandoned vehicle on the property.

An 83-year-old man was attacked while mowing; two CareFlite crew members and two firefighters were also stung during rescue. Firefighters used hose and foam, and a firefighter drove the ambulance to the hospital.

Two Hidalgo County employees were reportedly attacked while repairing a drainage ditch in Edinburg. They were stung more than 100 times and taken to a hospital; one reportedly had an allergic reaction.

City of Oklahoma City employees reportedly disturbed a nest of bees while clearing brush; the fire department was involved and workers used beekeeping-style protective gear to complete the job.

A man operating a tractor jumped off after being attacked by bees and suffered a laceration; a woman working nearby was also attacked. The man was reported unconscious and the woman semi-conscious when transported to the hospital.

Border Patrol agents reportedly found 12 migrants who were stung after crossing the Rio Grande near Peñitas; four were hospitalized.

A 91-year-old woman was hospitalized after officials said she was stung more than 100 times in a Plantation bee attack.

Six people, including a firefighter, were hospitalized after a swarm attacked shoppers and firefighters near a grocery store parking lot in Monterey Park.

A man in his 40s was critically injured after being repeatedly stung near 56th Street and Shea Boulevard. Firefighters used foam against the bees, and a bee-removal worker later found weeks worth of honeycomb in a water valve box along the front of a home.

Four people were hospitalized after a hive under a pallet was disturbed; a wheelchair user was stung more than 60 times and rescuers were also stung.

A regional article states that bee attacks had been reported in Carlsbad, Artesia, and Portales in 2005, and that bees attacked three Artesia police officers, one Eddy County sheriff’s deputy, and two civilians on a Thursday according to an AP report.

Chandler firefighters treated 10 people after a bee attack at the Intel Ocotillo campus. Three patients were transported to hospitals in stable condition and seven were treated at the scene.

At Pembroke, New Hampshire, a communication-line construction worker preparing to install fiber-optic cable was attacked by bees, received multiple stings, and died from anaphylactic shock.

A 76-year-old groundskeeper was mowing grass on a riding lawn mower at Krenmueller Farms when he was attacked by a swarm of bees and stung multiple times throughout his body. He was found after the incident; cause of death was attributed to the bee stings.

Louisiana agriculture officials reported another confirmed positive Africanized honey bee sample in a trap along the Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish, about one mile south of Meraux and two miles southeast of Chalmette. Officials said Africanized bees should be assumed established in the area.

San Angelo police reported at least four people were attacked by bees near a West Texas convenience store. Emergency personnel transported one severely injured man to a hospital, while others may have sought treatment independently.

Two city contractors were hospitalized after being stung by bees while mowing grass on the median at Shoreline and Schatzel in Corpus Christi.

A BeeRescue page quoting a Miami Herald item reports that a Miami Gardens resident tried to move a log containing aggressive Africanized bees, triggering an attack on occupants, responding firefighters, television journalists, and family dogs; one dog died.

KTNV reported that three dogs were critically stung by bees near Alta and Rainbow and were later put down by the family. The dogs owner was also stung, and Las Vegas Fire & Rescue said the bees came from a storage box in a neighbor yard.