To quote the immortal Nicolas Cage, "No! Not the bees." As someone with a bee allergy, the insect has been my sworn enemy, and stories like this don't help my fear.
A Californias family is in the hospital with their beloved pet dog dead due to a bee swarm. Three people were hospitalized. A swarm of the insects attacked them in their backyard earlier this week.
According to Tiffany Ahmu, she discovered that the backyard was "thick with bees." Realizing her dog, a 12-year-old named Kona, was in the backyard, she came to its aid. The poor pooch was being attacked.
"Kona is covered. I couldn't even see her coat. I pick her up. She's already limp. She's still breathing, but limp. I jump to the pool to dust the bees off and I'm covered in bees," Ahmu told the station.
According to USA Today, Ahmu's bravery left her with multiple strings. In addition, two children also got stung during the attack. However, the hospital quickly released both of them.
Authorities don't know what kind of the insect they were. Sadly, Ahmu's bravery was for nothing. Her dog died at a nearby vet. "She was so spunky, still super active and hyper," Ahmu told the station.
It's not the first time nor the last that the insects will attack someone.
"When dealing with bees that start coming towards you, the first thing they will do is bump you, because if they sting you they die," Duane Combs, president of the Beekeepers Association of Central Arizona and University of Montana master beekeeper told the outlet.
Bees Kill Grandfather
In July, a 75-year-old rancher and grandfather died when disturbing a hive on his ranch. Bryce Smith ran from the swarm but passed from his injuries. He was clearing trees when it happened.
"The Bedias community lost a very very good individual yesterday, a very good man. He was a wonderful husband, great dad, great grandfather to his kids. He was very well respected," Grimes County Justice of the Peace Judge Chris Acord said. "The severity of what happened and how this could happen to anybody and we don't think about these things."
In that case, Texas A&M AgriLife research bee scientist, Juliana Rangel, theorized it was Africanized honey bees.
"Africanized bees are a little bit more prone to feeling threatened by any external stimuli than more often than not, European bees," said Rangel.
"You better call a professional beekeeper that knows how to deal with live bee removals so we always recommend trying that route first, which is to call a professional beekeeper that can remove the bees live," said Rangel.
