Detailed U.S. Incident Records

U.S. Detailed Incident Statistics

These records are an actual documented sample from the much larger U.S. bee-injury data sets. They are used to show the real-world details behind individual reports: what happened, where it happened, who or what was affected, the trigger, severity, response, and available source documentation.

4.05 million View U.S. Bee-Injury Data →

Estimated cumulative bee-related U.S. ER visits, 2001-2025

This current cumulative estimate extends the published national bee-specific annual average through the latest completed calendar year. It does not come with public case files that can be plotted or reconstructed one by one.

The detailed records below are the individual incidents Honey Bee Awareness has been able to reconstruct from public sources with enough information to show what happened, where it happened, the outcome, and the response.

The underlying national study covered nonfatal, unintentional, non-work-related ER cases only. It does not include fatal cases, work-related cases, or incidents that never resulted in ER treatment. See the national U.S. bee-injury data and calculation.

258 Detailed U.S. Case Records

19 U.S. States / Territories Represented

60 Human Fatality Case Records

151 Hospitalization Case Records

49 Animal Fatality Case Records

162 Responder-Involved Case Records

United States Detailed Records by State

These are case-level records selected for documentation and pattern analysis. They are not a count of every bee incident in each state.

70 AZ

64 TX

46 CA

23 FL

23 NV

7 NM

5 LA

5 OK

2 GA

2 NJ

2 PR

2 NH

1 AL

1 AR

1 NY

1 ME

1 MA

1 OH

1 IL

What Was Happening When the Incident Began

Includes incident records with a reported activity or setting. Records where the source did not state the activity are not included in this list.

46 Mowing / Yard Work

38 Animal / Pet / Livestock Encounter

28 Tree Work / Landscaping / Brush Clearing

25 Hive / Colony Disturbance

23 Residential / Property Exposure

17 Unknown / Needs Review

16 Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure

14 Construction / Equipment / Structural Work

10 Bee Removal / DIY Control

10 Public Location / School / Event

10 Farm / Ranch / Field Work

8 Vehicle / Roadside / Transport

6 Utility / Public Works

3 Responder / Public Safety Response

2 Detection / Public Advisory

1 Port / Cargo Interception

1 Animal / Livestock Exposure

Incident Outcomes

Each record is counted once according to its most serious documented outcome.

61 Human Death

140 Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury

34 Animal Death

6 Stinging Incident — No Death or Hospitalization Reported

17 Public-Safety Response — No Serious Injury Reported

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Detailed U.S. Incident Records

Showing 51–70 of 70 matching records. Total detailed case records in working CSV: 328. Click a column heading to sort the current results.

Date ▼	State / Territory / Area	Trigger	Outcome	Bee Identification	Headline / Summary	Source
2016-03-06	AZ Maricopa / Scottsdale, AZ	Hive / Colony Disturbance	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Woman hospitalized and three dogs killed after large bee attack at condo complex 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.	ABC15 / 12News / KSL B - Established News / Officials Quoted
2015-08-06	AZ Maricopa / El Mirage	Animal / Pet / Livestock Encounter	Animal Death	Honey Bees — Genetics Not Established	Bee swarm attacked family dogs outside El Mirage home; three dogs died and one survived FOX 10 reported that bees nesting in an abandoned upside-down couch attacked four family dogs in El Mirage; one dog died at the scene, two critically injured dogs were rushed to an emergency animal hospital and later euthanized, and one survived.	FOX 10 Phoenix B - Established News / Officials Quoted
2014-10-08	AZ Cochise / Douglas, AZ	Mowing / Yard Work	Human Death	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Landscaper killed and another critically injured after massive Africanized bee swarm from attic colony 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.	UPI / CBS News / AOL / Douglas Fire Department via media B - Established News / Officials Quoted
2014	AZ Maricopa / Buckeye, AZ	Mowing / Yard Work	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Honey Bees — Genetics Not Established	71-year-old man revived after being stung thousands of times by bees A 71-year-old Buckeye man, Jerry Mora, was reportedly attacked in his backyard, stung thousands of times, and revived after emergency responders intervened.	TomoNews / ABC News referenced C - Local / Partial Documentation
2013-05	AZ Pima / Santa Catalina Mountains / Tucson area	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Human Death	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Tucson climber Steven Johnson and dog reportedly killed after bee attack on Santa Catalina crag Phoenix New Times reported that Tucson climber Steven Johnson was found dead in his harness about 70 feet up on a Santa Catalina crag in May 2013, and that his dog was also found dead after both were stung countless times. Needs original report before merge.	Phoenix New Times historical roundup C
2013-05	AZ Pima / Pusch Ridge Wilderness / Santa Catalinas	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Family hiking in Pusch Ridge Wilderness reportedly swarmed; several stung more than 100 to 200 times Phoenix New Times reported that a family hiking in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness in May 2013 was swarmed; five hikers were stung, including three stung more than 100 to 200 times, and a 6-year-old boy showed signs of shock. Needs original source before merge.	Phoenix New Times historical roundup C
2012-10	AZ Maricopa / Phoenix / Camelback Mountain	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Human Death	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Joshua Ruzsa died after bee swarm contributed to fall while climbing at Camelback Mountain Phoenix New Times reported that 19-year-old Joshua Ruzsa died in October 2012 after a bee swarm hit him and friends while climbing Camelback Mountain. The bees reportedly caused a fall rather than killing him by venom alone; two friends were stung hundreds of times and required a rescue. Needs original source before merge.	Phoenix New Times historical roundup C
2011-09	AZ Yavapai / Unincorporated Yavapai County	Construction / Equipment / Structural Work	Human Death	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Walter Coughran reportedly killed after bees attacked men working on a house in Yavapai County Phoenix New Times reported that Walter Coughran, 65, died after a swarm descended on three men working on a house in unincorporated Yavapai County in September 2011. Two others were injured. Needs original source before merge.	Phoenix New Times historical roundup C
2011-09	AZ Cochise / Bisbee	Animal / Pet / Livestock Encounter	Animal Death	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Bisbee farm animals reportedly attacked; 1,000-pound hog killed and pregnant sow lost litter A secondary public summary reports that Africanized bees swarmed several farm animals at a Bisbee-area farm, killed a 1,000-pound hog, and stung an 800-pound pregnant sow so severely that it went into a coma and lost its litter. This appears credible enough to preserve as preliminary animal-impact evidence but needs the original news source and exact date.	BeesBegone archive / secondary public summary C
2010-08-10	AZ Pima / Mt. Lemmon, Hairpin Turn / Left Hand Wall crag off Catalina Highway, AZ	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Honey Bees — Genetics Not Established	Rock climber Robert Mackley stranded and stung over 1,000 times after climbing group of four (including a woman and toddler) disturbs a hive A group of four climbers - including a woman and a toddler - disturbed a hive at a popular Mt. Lemmon crag around 6:30pm. Three escaped, but Mackley became stuck at the top of a route with a jammed rope knot and was stung for roughly three hours, later estimated at over 1,000-1,500 stings (he reported counting 90 sting marks on one hand alone). He described fading in and out of consciousness during the ordeal. Search and rescue rappelled down and extracted him around 9:15pm; three of the four climbers were hospitalized.	Arizona Daily Star / Tucson.com / Phoenix New Times / KVOA B - Established news / climbing report
2010-04	AZ Maricopa / Phoenix, AZ	Unknown / Needs Review	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Three people critically injured in downtown Phoenix Africanized bee attack UPI and AZ Pest summarize an outbreak of Africanized bee attacks in Arizona; one summary reports three people attacked while walking in downtown Phoenix, all surviving but in critical condition.	UPI / AZ Pest summary C - Local / Partial Documentation
2005-05-26	AZ Pima / Tucson, AZ	Hive / Colony Disturbance	Public-Safety Response — No Serious Injury Reported	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Africanized bees stung at least six people in Tucson-area incident UPI reported that Africanized bees stung at least six people in a Tucson Foothills neighborhood and that pest-control workers removed a colony from an elementary school the same day.	UPI / Arizona Daily Star referenced B - Established News / Officials Quoted
2005-01-08	AZ Pima / Tanque Verde Ridge, Rincon Mountains, Saguaro National Park (east), AZ	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Reported Africanized Honey Bees	Running club attacked off-trail in Saguaro National Park; two severely injured (400 and 100 stings), 6-8 more stung 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.	GVNews.com (Arizona Daily Star) / KOLD B - Established News Source
2004-03-07	AZ Maricopa / Camelback Mountain, Hart Route (near the Praying Monk), Phoenix, AZ	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Human Death	Honey Bees — Genetics Not Established	Keith Abbe, 24, falls 50 feet to his death fleeing a bee swarm on his first outdoor rock climb; climbing partner Jess Passage stung ~100 times 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.	East Valley Tribune / Phoenix New Times / American Alpine Club Publications B - Established news / climbing incident report
2003-09-01	AZ Pima / Saguaro National Park / Tucson Mountain District	Outdoor Recreation / Remote Exposure	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Confirmed Africanized Honey Bees	Father and son attacked by Africanized honeybees while rock climbing at Saguaro National Park A Tucson man and his 13-year-old son were attacked by Africanized honeybees while climbing in Saguaro National Park. The boy dislodged part of a hidden hive on a cliff face. The father was stung over 200 times and hospitalized overnight; the son was stung about 50 times and treated and released.	National Park Service Morning Report / Saguaro National Park A
1998-08-02	AZ Cochise / Brewery Gulch, Bisbee, AZ	Bee Removal / DIY Control	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Confirmed Africanized Honey Bees	Resident's beehive-spraying attempt unleashes swarm that stings eight people, kills a tied dog, in downtown Bisbee A Brewery Gulch resident sprayed a long-established beehive wedged in an old brick warehouse; the Africanized colony erupted into the street, attacking pedestrians, dogs, birds, and even telephone poles. A tied-up Labrador retriever died five hours later. Eight people were hospitalized, including Debrah Strait, stung up to 300 times after bees filtered into her car through a partially open window. A policeman had to wrap himself in a blanket for protection.	Sunset Magazine / Arizona Daily Star (via secondary source) B
1995-10-18	AZ Maricopa / Near Phoenix	Unknown / Needs Review	Human Death	Confirmed Africanized Honey Bees	Second 1995 Arizona Africanized bee fatality near Phoenix; 66-year-old man reportedly stung about 130 times 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.	Today in Science History / historical summary C
1995-10-06	AZ Maricopa / Apache Junction / east of Phoenix	Residential / Property Exposure	Human Death	Confirmed Africanized Honey Bees	Mary Williams became first Arizona human fatality attributed to Africanized honey bees 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.	Today in Science History; Phoenix New Times historical summary C
1993-06-06	AZ Pima / Tucson	Residential / Property Exposure	Animal Death	Confirmed Africanized Honey Bees	First confirmed Africanized honey bee discovery in Arizona involved small dog stung to death Africanized honey bees were first discovered in Arizona after a colony established in the roof of a Tucson house stung a small dog to death on June 6, 1993. The colony was examined by experienced beekeepers and federal and state scientists.	Today in Science History / historical summary C
Unknown	AZ Pinal / Maricopa / Ventana Lane and Rosalia Drive, AZ	Utility / Public Works	Hospitalization or Serious Human Injury	Honey Bees — Genetics Not Established	Two hospitalized after utility-box hive disturbed during underground fiber installation About a dozen people completing underground fiber cable installation were stung. Two were transported to a hospital for evaluation; fire crews located a hive in a nearby in-ground utility box. Marked public-visible preliminary because the event appears real but one or more details remain pending.	ABC15 Arizona B / Preliminary*