Image via Pixabay/Pexels
If you hate bees, which some people do, this semi-truck crash in Washington state would give you the willies. Millions of bees that were being transported on the flatbed trailer were released after the truck crashed, leading to quite the mess which has required over two dozen local beekeepers to clean up.
Turkey attacks a cop after he calls it a chicken.
At first, authorities thought about 250 million bees had been released. However, once they got a better handle on the situation, that number was adjusted to about 14 million. Still, that’s a lot of bees to have swarming in any area.
🇺🇸 BEE-MAGEDDON: 14 MILLION BEES UNLEASHED IN WASHINGTON
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 1, 2025
A truck carrying 70,000lb of active hives flipped near the Canadian border, unleashing a stinging storm of nearly 14 million bees.
Authorities first feared 250 million were loose before cooler heads prevailed.
Local… pic.twitter.com/RbcCJKQpsb
The crash happened in the wee morning hours of May 31 in Whatcom County, Washington. After the semi-truck ended up in a ditch, the beehives were still intact and the bees were contained. However, when a tow truck showed up just before 9 am and tried pulling the tractor-trailer out of the ditch, the hives fell off.
As they say, the rest is history.
One beekeeper told Cascadia Daily there were so many bees swarming around the semi-truck, they were “like a cloud.” Video of the scene shows what looks like a literal cloud of bees around the vehicle, which is something we’ve only seen in cartoons, until now.
Obviously, the road where the accident happened has been closed off for public safety. Authorities are hoping it will be reopened on June 7.
Apparently, the bees were incredibly mad and the beekeepers were getting stung if they had any gaps in their suits. Some were sealing openings using duct tape as they remarked that honeybees are usually far gentler.
What we want to know is how the semi-truck crashed into the ditch. Even though the bees didn’t get out until later, we would think someone towing such potentially dangerous cargo would be incredibly careful.
Image via Pixabay/Pexels
