A tractor-trailer carrying honey bees crashed on Friday in Whatcom County, Washington, releasing approximately 250 million of the tiny pollinators.
The truck was hauling over 70,000 pounds of pollinator hives when it rolled over around 4:00 a.m., CBS News reported.
“The hives came off the truck shortly after 9 a.m., which freed the bees. The incident happened on Weidkamp Road, which remains closed between Loomis Trail and West Badger roads, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said,” per the outlet.
County emergency management spokesperson Amy Cloud told ABC 7 that the truck driver, who was not hurt, apparently did not make a tight turn which caused the vehicle to roll over.
“Deputies, county public works employees and several bee experts responded to the scene. The box hives later came off the truck, and local beekeepers swarmed to help recover, restore, and reset the hives, according to the sheriff’s office,” the report said, adding officials are letting the bees return to their hives and locate their queen over the next few days in order to save the bees.
Images show the bees swarming the truck:
250 million honey bees escaped after a semi-truck carrying 70,000 pounds in hives overturned in Whatcom County, Washington on Friday.
— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) May 31, 2025
Over two dozen beekeepers were called in to help contain the situation.
“No one could have predicted 250 MILLION BEES would be loose on a road,”… pic.twitter.com/da5tBP8sKd
In a social media update, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office thanked the beekeepers for their help in rescuing the bees.
“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,” the agency said.
“At this time, on-scene work is done. Hive boxes from the overturned truck were recovered, restored, and returned to use. By morning, most bees should have returned to their hives and those responsible for their delivery will be in charge. Until the rescue is complete, and at least into Saturday, Weidkamp Road will remain closed,” officials stated:
UPDATE re: bees on the loose near LyndenThank 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.At this time, on-scene work is done. Hive boxes from the overturned truck were recovered, restored and returned to use. By morning, most bees should have returned to their hives and those responsible for their delivery will be in charge. Until the rescue is complete, and at least into Saturday, Weidkamp Road will remain closed.
Posted by Whatcom County Sheriff's Office on Friday, May 30, 2025
Honeybees are extremely important because they pollinate all kinds of crops, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA):
Three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. That’s one out of every three bites of food you eat. More than 3,500 species of native bees help increase crop yields. Some scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of animal pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, and beetles and other insects.
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Pollinators visit flowers in their search for food (nectar and pollen). During a flower visit, a pollinator may accidentally brush against the flower’s reproductive parts, unknowingly depositing pollen from flower to flower. The plant uses the pollen to produce a fruit or seed. Many plants cannot reproduce without pollen carried to them by foraging pollinators.
Officials warned locals to avoid the area until everything was back to normal, and the ABC article said deputies who arrived at the scene took shelter in their vehicles several times to avoid being stung.
