14 Million Honeybees Escape After Truck Overturns

A sleepy stretch of highway near Lynden, Washington turned into something out of a nightmare Friday morning after a semi truck hauling 70,000 pounds of active honey bee hives rolled over before sunrise. Within hours, millions of bees were in the air, forming dense clouds around the wreck.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office first reported that 250 million bees had escaped. That number was later walked back to a more accurate—but still staggering—14 million. Deputies quickly shut down the road and urged the public to stay away, especially anyone allergic to bee stings. A warning posted to Facebook advised people to keep at least 200 yards from the scene.

Some first responders were stung multiple times and took cover inside their patrol cars. By 9 a.m., emergency crews and more than two dozen beekeepers were working to recover the hive boxes and stabilize the site. “The goal is to save as many bees as possible,” the sheriff’s office said. “The plan is to allow the bees to re-hive and find their queen bee. That should occur within the next 24-48 hours.”

Beekeepers Swarm to Rescue Millions of Escaped Bees After Truck Crash

Footage from the site showed a haze of insects swarming the truck’s remains. Some of the hive boxes held up. Others splintered apart, disorienting the colonies and scattering workers into the surrounding fields.

Authorities suspect the driver took a turn too fast and lost control. He wasn’t injured, but the road remained closed for much of the day while crews worked to gather what they could. By late afternoon, the sheriff’s office confirmed progress: the boxes had been “recovered, restored and returned to use,” and they expected most bees to return to their hives by morning.

Incidents like this aren’t unheard of in the Pacific Northwest. In 2015, a truck spilled 40 million bees across I-5 during the morning commute. Accidents like this create a public spectacle, but they also reveal just how much agriculture relies on commercial beekeeping.

These hives were most likely on their way to farms that depend on bee pollination for crops. Colonies are already under strain from pesticides, mites, and rising temperatures. A crash like this adds yet another hit to a system already stretched thin.