Killer Bees Death: Texas Farmer Hit by Hive of 40,000 Africanized Bees

A central Texas man was killed by a hive of over 40,000 Africanized honey bees, otherwise known as "killer bees."

According to the Waco Tribune-Herald, Larry Goodwin was attacked as he drove his tractor on a neighbor's land in Moody.

Yahoo News notes that the 62-year-old ran to a house about 50 yards away as he tried to use a garden hose to ward off the swarm, according to McLennan County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Matt Cawthon.

A woman came out to help and was also stung. Goodwin was pronounced dead at the scene.

"If anybody has any brush or anything on their lands please clear it because they don't want to go through this. Nobody needs to go through this," said Tanya, Goodwin's daughter, via KCEN-TV.

Owner of Bee Be Gone, Allen Miller, who later destroyed the hive, said the farmer must have hit a pile of wood where the bees lived, which he estimated contained about 40,000 Africanized bees.

The Smithsonian notes that Africanized honey bees attack intruders in much greater numbers than the common European honey bee. Since they were first seen in Brazil, they have killed over 1,000 humans, with victims receiving up to ten times as many stings as they would from the European strain, the encyclopedia notes online. This is because they react to disturbance ten times faster than European honey bees and can even chase a person for a quarter of a mile.  

"They can get up under your clothes where no other insect can go," Miller said, via Yahoo News. "In a hive of ordinary European bees, about 10 percent will attack if the hive is threatened, but with African bees, all of them attack you."

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service reports that eight people have died as a result of bee stings from the hybrid bees since 1990.