BELLINGHAM, Washington – A palpable buzz filled the air in northwestern Washington state on Friday after roughly 250 million honeybees were released into the environment when a commercial truck carrying them overturned.
According to social media updates from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, the truck—transporting approximately 31,751 kilograms of honeybee hives—rolled over around 4:00 a.m. near the Canadian border by Lynden.
Amy Cloud, a spokesperson for the county’s emergency management department, stated via email that it appeared the driver failed to adequately navigate a sharp turn, resulting in the trailer tipping into a roadside ditch. Fortunately, the driver was unharmed in the incident, Cloud confirmed.
The response involved sheriff's deputies, county public works personnel, and several beekeeping experts who arrived at the crash site to assist. The impact of the rollover caused the box hives to dislodge from the truck, prompting local beekeepers to converge on the scene in an effort to retrieve, repair, and reposition the hives, as described by the sheriff’s office.
Authorities explained that the plan moving forward was to give the bees time over the following one to two days to return to their hives and locate their queen bees. The overall objective was to preserve and recover as many of the bees as possible.
The sheriff’s office expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the beekeeping community, noting in its post, “Thank you to the wonderful community of beekeepers: over two dozen showed up to help ensure the rescue of millions of pollinating honey bees would be as successful as possible.”
Due to the large number of bees in the area, the public was urged to stay away from the site on Friday. At various points, sheriff's deputies even had to seek refuge in their patrol vehicles to avoid bee stings.
Honeybees are vital to the agricultural sector, as they pollinate over 100 different crops, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus fruits, and melons. However, bees and other pollinators have been experiencing steady population declines, attributed by experts to a range of factors such as pesticides, parasites, disease, climate change, and the absence of a varied and sufficient food supply.
In recognition of these challenges, the United Nations General Assembly established May 20 as “World Bee Day” in 2018 to raise awareness about the importance and plight of bees.
As reported by The Seattle Times, beekeepers frequently relocate millions of bees from place to place, since leaving them in a single location for extended periods can exhaust the area’s floral resources, negatively impacting other pollinators.
Alan Woods, president of the Washington State Beekeepers Association, told the newspaper that the state should implement a standardized “emergency bee response” protocol for incidents involving bee transport vehicles. The Times recalled a previous event in 2015, when a truck overturned on Interstate 5 just north of Seattle, releasing 14 million bees that subsequently began stinging nearby individuals.