Africanized bees attack local couple
Posted By Kate Rosenberg on April 27, 2009
LUCERNE VALLEY – Two people were hospitalized after being attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees Sunday morning.
According to officials from the San Bernardino County Fire Department, the unnamed victims — a man and a woman in their late 50s to mid 60s — were treated and released from St. Mary Medical Center, after being stung dozens of times each.
“I can’t say exactly how many times they were stung, but it was quite a bit from what I understand,” said Tracey Martinez, spokeswoman for the fire department.
The couple keep honey bees on their property in the 11600 block of Camp Rock Road, and had gone to the location around 9 a.m. to tend to their bee hives, Martinez said.
There they have a shed, or an apiary, where the bees are kept. But Martinez said a colony of Africanized bees created hives inside and outside the shed, unbeknownst to the owners.
“So when they went to tend to the honey bees they were attacked by aggressive Africanized bees,” Martinez said. “The male subject had several stings but the female subject had many more. He was pretty calm and laying on the ground but she was flailing around and the bees were still attacking her when we arrived.”
Firefighters began to spray water into the air so it came down like rain, which eventually dispersed the swarm, Martinez said.
San Bernardino County Vector Control was called out to dispose of the bees.
There were several farm animals at the location but none appeared to have been stung at all, Martinez said.
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