Truck drops 5 MILLION angry bees in the middle of Canadian highway, locals told to close windows
ยท Aug 31, 2023 ยท NottheBee.com

I know we call the site "Not the Bee," but sometimes we have to break the rules and report on literal bees!

This story from Ontario is creating quite the buzz after a pickup truck carrying a trailer filled with beehives lost a big chunk of his load, spilling MILLIONS of bees out on the highway.

Watch the news chopper footage:

I guess the transporter didn't tug on the ratchet straps and say, "That's not going anywhere," before taking off down the road.

The Halton Regional Police Service said officers were alerted about 6:15 a.m. that several boxes of bees had fallen from the back of a truck on Guelph Line in Burlington.

"We're not sure how or what exactly took place but at some point the boxes containing bees or beehives slid off the trailer and spilled all over the road," police spokesman Ryan Anderson told CBC News.

Honey bees aren't aggressive unless they are defending their hive, but authorities said these bees were very riled up and people should keep their distance. There can be up to 80,000 bees in one hive or colony, meaning there were at least 60 colonies that fell off that truck!

They had to call out lots of local beekeepers, in what has to be the most exciting day of their careers, to come help by standing around and staring at the problem for a few minutes (in usual guy fashion).

Maybe if we all stare really hard...

Though police said early afternoon the scene was cleared, drivers and nearby residents should keep their windows closed.

The police say they have no clue what happened, but I think we have a pretty good idea of who might have been behind this disaster.

(Beekeeper Luc) Peters said locals can expect there to still be a large number of bees in the area for a few days.

"We're going to be leaving some crates behind. Some of the bees have escaped and we're hoping that they'll naturally return to these crates and we'll come back at a later date to pick them up once the bees have returned," he said.

Well, I guess all you can do is stand around and hope they come back. It's not like they'll make much progress waving around a big butterfly net when there are millions of bees to secure.

To add insult to injury, not only did the driver of the truck lose half his load, but police ticketed him for driving with the load unsecured.


P.S. Now check out our latest video ๐Ÿ‘‡

Keep up with our latest videos โ€” Subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Ready to join the conversation? Subscribe today.

Access comments and our fully-featured social platform.

Sign up Now
App screenshot