Police call special back up after 5 million ‘angry’ bees fall from truck

It’s one way to create some buzz.

Boxes holding 5 million bees fell off a truck in Canada early Wednesday morning, causing a sticky situation for a group of local beekeepers who flew into action, collecting the buzzy insects off the road.

Halton Regional Police Service officers were called to Guelph Line in Burlington, north of Dundas Street, around 6:15 a.m. after a truck transporting the yellow and black insects lost its load.

“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,” HRPS spokesperson Ryan Anderson told CBC News.

Beekeeper Luc Peters, who was called in to help by police, called the bumbling incident an “unusual case.”

According to Peters, who takes care of nearly 400,000 bees at the nearby Royal Botanic Gardens, such a large group of bees would normally stay inside their crates instead of flying free.

“It sounds bigger than it is for the most part because a colony of bees could be 80,000 bees,” Peters said.

“It kind of depends on how many colonies there are and no doubt to a non-beekeeper that would be rather intense to see regardless… It’s important for people to understand that honey bees are fairly gentle and really don’t bother people unless they are bothered. This is a rare situation where you have to keep your distance from them,” Peters added.

Police urged drivers passing through the area and nearby residents to keep their windows closed.

Shortly after 9 a.m., police said the bees were almost cleared.

“Thanks to the overwhelming response from beekeepers coming to help we expect the scene to be clear in approx. 30 mins. The majority of the bees have been safely collected and crates will be hauled away,” police said.

While several beekeepers helping out were stung — a normal occurrence on the job — no one had to be taken to the hospital.

Peters said the bees were likely returning from a pollination service, which is when farmers hire beekeepers to pollinate their crops when they took the tumble off the truck.

“They [the bees] are having the worse day out of all of us,” Peters added.