Beehive truck rollover sends millions of bees into Texas neighborhood
Orange County officials closed roads and told residents to stay indoors after a trailer carrying hundreds of hives overturned east of Houston.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
A semitrailer hauling hundreds of beehives overturned in a rural Orange County, Texas, neighborhood Sunday, releasing millions of honeybees and prompting local officials to close roads. Emergency officials told nearby residents to remain inside while crews tried to secure the area and save as many hives as possible.
Orange County emergency officials said the truck was carrying about 400 hives when it tipped over. The county sits east of Houston along the Louisiana border.
No stings or serious injuries were immediately reported, according to officials. Authorities had not publicly identified the owner of the hives.
Christie Ray, owner of the nearby Queen Bee Supply, said volunteers from several beekeeping businesses went to the scene Sunday to help. Ray said the response reflected how local beekeepers assist one another during emergencies.
Chris Moore, owner of Moore Honey, also joined the recovery effort with his son and employees. Moore estimated that only about one-quarter of the 408 hives involved would survive, depending largely on whether the queens in those colonies lived through the crash.
Moore said the loss could be costly for the beekeeper, with the financial damage tied to the size of the operation. He said the owner would lose both the physical hives and the income those colonies could have produced.
Wrong turn led truck onto narrow roads
Moore said the hives had been only a few miles into a trip to North Dakota when the driver made a wrong turn into a neighborhood with narrow streets. The trailer fell over as the driver tried to make a tight turn, Moore said.
Large beekeeping operators commonly move colonies across the country for farm pollination work and honey production, according to Moore. Such trips can include pollination in California and routes through the South and Midwest that follow seasonal blooms.
After the rollover, crews worked to unload the trailer and recover viable hives. Other local beekeepers placed catch boxes in the area to collect bees that remained loose, Moore said.
The bees are expected to linger for some time, Moore said, even after the trailer and most of the damaged hives are cleared. Catch boxes can help gather strays, but the process is not immediate.
The Texas incident followed another crash involving a truck hauling bees in April, when traffic was slowed on an interstate near Knoxville, Tennessee.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.