Canada
Beekeepers at a site near Toronto, Ontario, eventually managed to recapture most of the insects, but some remained at large
Associated Press
Thu, August 31, 2023, 01:10 BST
Police near Toronto have warned drivers to keep their car windows closed after a truck spilled boxes containing five million bees onto a road.
Halton Regional Police said they received a call around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday saying the bee boxes had gotten loose from a truck and spilled onto a street in Burlington, Ont.
“We’re not sure how or what exactly happened, but at some point the boxes of bees or hives slid off the trailer and spilled all over the street,” Constable Ryan Anderson told CBC News.
It was “a pretty great scene,” Anderson said. “There were literally boxes on the street and swarms of bees flying around,” he said. “The first beekeeper who was on site was apparently stung several times.”
Beekeepers are returning bees after they fell from a truck as it swerved onto a road near Toronto. Photo: Canadian Press/Shutterstock
The scene prompted police to warn drivers to close their windows when passing by and pedestrians to avoid the area.
US honey bees are experiencing their second deadliest season on record
About an hour after police posted a message on social media, several beekeepers came forward and offered to help. Eventually, six or seven beekeepers arrived on the scene, Anderson said.
At around 9:15 a.m., police said most of the five million bees had been safely collected and the boxes were being transported away. Some boxes had been left behind so that the uncollected bees could return there themselves.
It is believed the bees were part of a pollination service in which farmers hire beekeepers to help pollinate their crops.
According to the Canadian Honey Council, a national beekeeping association, a summer honey bee colony numbers about 50,000 to 80,000 bees.
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