Can bees kill humans? Not normally but 6 died of bee stings in Nicaragua

Introduction: The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanized honey bee and the “killer bee”, is a hybrid of the western honey bee produced originally by crossbreeding of the East African lowland honey bee with various European honey bee subspecies such as the Italian honey bee and the Iberian honey bee.

Multiple killer bee stings killed 6 in a bus accident
Multiple killer bee stings killed 6 in a bus accident. Image: Radio Ya.

The East African lowland honey bee was first introduced to Brazil in 1956 in an effort to increase honey production, but 26 swarms escaped quarantine in 1957. Since then, the hybrid has spread throughout South America and arrived in North America in 1985. Hives were found in south Texas in the United States in 1990.

Allergy?

Normally bees can only kill a person if they are allergic to the bee venom and they die from anaphylactic shock. One sting might achieve that. But normally people are not killed by a bee sting even multiple bee stings.

Six died in one attack

However, there are exceptions and, in the news, today there is a gigantic exception from Nicaragua concerning Africanised honeybees which in this story lived in hives in a plantation.

A bus carrying 60 passengers veered off the road above the plantation (we don’t know for sure the cause of the accident) and plunged down a ravine into the hives. They were broken open and the bees treated that as a hostile attack and in an act of defensive aggression in my estimation day entered the coach or chased the fleeing passengers and stung 45 of them.

The report is that six of them have died of the stings. I guess they could have died of the accident itself but the doctors had decided it was the bee stings. Of course, these are multiple bee stings as you can see in the photograph.

The police are investigating the accident which appears to have occurred because of mechanical problems. Residents in the area were driven back by the bees when they try to help the passengers.

A number of people are still in hospital, seriously ill. So, therefore, the answer to the question in the title is YES under extraordinary circumstances when the attacks concerns the Africanised honey bee.

I’m told that the venom of the Africanised honeybees is no stronger than that of the European bee but when they attack, they do so in large numbers and therefore it is the heavy number of bee stings delivering a large quantity of venom which can be fatal to humans.

AI tells me this about the prospect of bees killing people

In general, bees are not aggressive and will not attack humans unless they feel threatened or provoked. However, if a person is allergic to bee venom, a bee sting can be life-threatening.

For people without allergies, a single bee sting is not usually dangerous unless the person is stung multiple times or the sting occurs in the mouth, throat, or near the eyes. Multiple bee stings can be serious, especially for young children or people with weakened immune systems.

It is important to note that there are some species of bees, such as Africanized bees (also known as “killer bees”), that are more aggressive than other bee species and may attack in large numbers. However, these bees are not typically found in North America or Europe.

Overall, while bees can pose a danger to humans, they are generally not a significant threat as long as people remain calm and avoid disturbing their hives. If you are stung by a bee and experience symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or dizziness, seek medical attention immediately.

The giant bee that sells for almost $10,000 (dead)

Bees enjoy playing by rolling balls

Leave a Comment

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Speciesism - 'them and us' | Cruelty - always shameful
follow it link and logo

Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.

At heart this site is about ANTHROPOCENTRISM meaning a human-centric world.

Post Category: Insects > bees