A county in Northern California, Concord, has been suffering an incredible attack by a large swarm of aggressive bees since Friday and the situation is getting worse. Residents called 911 reporting the phenomena since some got injured with bees stings.
Allegedly, these violent type of bees are not the regular honeybees, but instead are a species known as “killer bees” that infiltrates common hives. The source of this swarm is believed to be an infiltrated hive in a beekeeper’s backyard in Concord.
Killer Bees
According to National Geographic, killer bees is the common name for African honeybees, a dangerous species that originally reproduces in the Amazon rain forest. These swarms tend to be very aggressive and are blames for nearly 1,000 deaths, both as a result of allergies to the venom dropped in every sting -that is not very different than venom from regular bees- and as a result of the sting itself, that sometimes can cause some severe affections in the skin and in some body systems (respiratory, cardiological, renal, etc.)
They are called “killer bees” since they tend to be more defensive that other bees, and more likely to attack as soon as a threat is detected. Also, the attacks are commonly perpetrated by large swarms that do not rest until the end of the persecution of a target. For unknown reasons, probably related to climate factors, this type of bee have moved to the U.S.
Since authorities can not help to control the attack for the lack of specialization, residents have turned to professional beekeepers to get rid of the swarm. A specialized beekeeper actually said to the media that this kind of attack is something he has never seen before, which make the situation really difficult to handle. However, the removal process of the bees was carried out the entire weekend and is supposed to end this Sunday night.
Source: CBS