'Bee ware' of stings as 5 million honeybees on the loose in Canada after truck accident

Police warned drivers to close their car windows as a truck carrying 500,000 bees overturned on a road near Toronto, Ontario.

The incident occurred in Burlington Ontario at around 6:15 am on Wednesday. The police said the initial beekeeper on the scene was stung a few times.

“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 spilt all over the road,” Constable Ryan Anderson, told CBC News.

Beekeepers were called to the scene and were able to recapture most of the bees. By around 9:15 am, the situation was under control and the crates were being hauled away.

A colony of honeybees in summer has about 50,000 to 80,000 bees, according to the Canadian Honey Council, a national association of beekeepers.

The incident is a reminder of the importance of bees to the environment. Bees are responsible for pollinating many of the crops we eat, and their populations have been declining in recent years.

It is fortunate that most of the bees in this incident were able to be safely recaptured. Beekeepers play an important role in helping to protect bee populations, and their quick response to this incident helped to minimize the impact on the bees.