Incident Record
First reported U.S. Africanized honey bee attack victim treated after mowing incident
Jesus Cenobio Sonny Diaz was attacked while mowing in Brownsville after disturbing an Africanized honey bee colony in a pipe near the road. He reportedly received 18 stings and was treated and released.
Record ID: TX-CAMERON-1991-0520
This record is part of a first-pass incident research dataset. Records, categories, and source notes may be updated as additional information is reviewed and verified.
Date
5/20/1991
Location
Brownsville, TX, Cameron County, TX
State
TX
Record Type
Historical News Report
Trigger / Activity
Mowing / Yard Work
Severity
Historical / Treated
Bee ID Status
Confirmed Africanized
Aggression Classification
Defensive attack
Incident Summary
Jesus Cenobio Sonny Diaz was attacked while mowing in Brownsville after disturbing an Africanized honey bee colony in a pipe near the road. He reportedly received 18 stings and was treated and released.
Public-Safety Lesson
This historically important Brownsville case marks the beginning of publicly documented Africanized honey bee attack history in the United States.
Impact Flags
Human Fatality
No
Human Hospitalized
No
Animal Fatality
No
Responder Involved
No
Source Information
Source: Lake County Leader archive / DesertUSA summary
Source Strength: B