Killer bees take 200 lives in Texas?

I'm very skeptical of this story because it appears to have originated in the Weekly World News. Regardless, this appeared in my RSOE EDIS RSS feed today:

A massive swarm of killer bees attacked several towns in Southern Texas, killing over two hundred people. The first incident happened last Friday. A swarm of bees attacked an elderly couple at their South Texas ranch, killing both and injuring their son, officials said. ... "It was horrifying, you couldn't even seen the sky there was so many of them," said Sally Jenkins. "It was like a storm was moving in. We all just ran to get inside, but if you had a window or door open, they came in. I lost three friends." Sheriff Ramon Espinoza has his Deputies out trying to kill the killer bees with everything they have: "We are getting stung, but we all got anti-killer bee injections, which were provided by the State. It works. So far."

hisz.rsoe.hu...

Pretty far-fetched. Is there such a thing as an anti-killer bee injection? This is all extraordinarily fishy, and I'm inclined to post it directly to the hoax forum.

But could it be true? Could there bee a coverup going on here?

reply to post by OhioPariah

"We are getting stung, but we all got anti-killer bee injections, which were provided by the State. It works. So far."

I'm going to have to look into this...

ETA: Here's the original "news" story: weeklyworldnews.com... . This is the only story I've been able to find on this. Highly speculative... in fact, I'm voting hoax.

I live in TX and have have not heard of this. I do know that an elderly couple was killed by bees a couple of days ago. That made the news. I suspect that if there were an additional 198 people that died, then this would be national, if not world, news. I'm calling this a definite hoax.

reply to post by OhioPariah


This don't seem right at all....anti-venom shots....dont think soo...
Killer bees are known for aggression not a different sting...its the # of bees not their stings, mixed with aggression.

Im thinking the #'s of dead ppl is a long standfing count not a one time deal.....still digging...

Well I just did a search on "Is there a such thing as killer bees injections" and got nada, zip, nil. I did however get a link that states that the number "200" is a typo. I read of an elderly couple in Texas get stung to death, but no others.

Anywho, maybe all those Texas wild fires are sirring the bees up. It's a shame because the bees themselves have been disappearing in massive numbers.

If you look at the "situation update" tab on the OP link (updated today), it only mentions the elderly couple.

Situation Update No. 2
On 22.04.2011 at 04:45 GMT+2

An elderly Texas couple may have been killed by "killer bees." Original reports said it was a swarm of angry bees, but now officials believe that the swarm was actually that of Africanized honey bees. Killer Bees May Have Killed Elderly Texas CoupleThe hybrid "killer bees" were originally introduced in Brazil in the 1950s from Africa. Since that time, they have been steadily moving North, appearing in Texas in the 1990s. These hybrid bees actually swarm more often than regular bees, which makes them all the more dangerous. William and Myrtle Steele, 95 and 92 respectively, died as a result of the "killer bee" stings they sustained. Their 67-year-old son, Richard was injured in the swarm as well. The group was trying to clean out a cabin and when they moved a wood stove, the hive was exposed. In just seconds the killer bees swarmed them. Richard escaped and called for help, but it wasn't enough. What a terrible end for this couple who had managed to live so long. Thankfully the son was able to survive the attack, and the officials who arrived to help were also not stung. These bees continue to cause problems, and are expected to continue spreading to additional states in the U.S. Be extremely careful if you suspect there could be bees around, especially if they are Africanized honey bees. Their removal is best left to professionals if it can at all be helped.

Situation Update No. 1
On 22.04.2011 at 04:37 GMT+2

An elderly Texas couple were killed by bees this week after they apparently tried to remove the insects from a fireplace in a house on a remote ranch, the Valley Morning Star reported Wednesday. William Steele, 90, died Monday in the house on a ranch outside Hebbronville, Texas, about 100 miles west of Corpus Christi. His wife, Myrtle Steele, 92, died Tuesday after she was flown to a Corpus Christi hospital, the couple's daughter-in-law, Judy Steele, told the newspaper. Judy Steele told the paper that the bees swarmed when her father-in-law sprayed a hive the insects had built in the small home's fireplace. Her husband, Richard Steele, was with his parents when the attack occurred, Judy Steele, told the Morning Star. He was also stung but was able to drive several miles to the nearest phone to call emergency services, she said. There is no cell phone service in the remote area, she said. Jim Hogg County sheriff's deputies responded and told the paper they were able to get Myrtle Steele out of the house. “We were getting stung in the process, but we were able to place a blanket over her and take her to an awaiting ambulance – we did what we could,” the paper quoted Deputy Reyes Espinoza as saying. William Steele died inside, Espinoza said. Judy Steele said her mother-in-law was stung more than 300 times. Espinoza told the paper the species of bee involved in the attack had not been identified and the hive had yet to be removed from the house.

Sorry to debunk your thread, I think your news is a hoax. The only related info I found involves an elderly couple being stung by a swarm. The Oakland Press reported, (among other news sources) that

Jim Hogg County sheriff’s deputies say 90-year-old William T. Steele was spraying insecticide on a bees’ nest Monday when the bees attacked him, his 92-year-old wife, Myrtle Steele, and their 67-year-old son, Richard Steele.

The swarm became angry and attacked.

There is no news of a big swarm killing 200 people, rather I think it's more likely that this swarm stung the couple that many times.. IDK

If anyone finds news to the contrary, please post. I would like to know if this is indeed true as well.

reply to post by OhioPariah


On a side note, I wish someone would consider or look at Africanized bees....if the other populace is dying off they may be...our last hope, as they are much more hardy, and flourish faster....

It really is obvious that the story is complete fiction based off of a real incident, but I'm pretty disappointed the the so-called "Disaster Monitor" - which I enjoy very much, by the way - is reporting stories that appear to have no other source beyond a tabloid. Very disappointed. I understand it's aggregator-driven content, but that newspaper shouldn't even be on the list of sites culled for material.

I think this might just be sensationalizing...

More likely it is multiple attacks over a couple of years that have been joined into one story. Not necessarily a hoax, but not really an accurate portrayal or events either.

That having been said the killer bee problem in Southern states is a real problem, and has led to multiple deaths.

Most likely when they talk about anti anything they actually mean anti-venom...

I believe there is an episode of MonsterQuest that dealt with this topic. One of their better episodes actually.
I'll see if I can find it on Youtube.

I did find this article dated yesterday. Swarm of Bees Sends Motorists Fleeing

Kev
Hope I did this right for the video this time.




part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4