THE CANADIAN PRESS
UPDATE - ST. LEONARD, N.B. Beekeepers in New Brunswick had the unenviable task today of recovering 12 million honey bees from a truck that overturned on the Trans-Canada Highway in the northwest corner of the province.
One beekeeper described the bees as nasty after their ordeal.
RCMP Sgt. Derek Strong says the flatbed truck, carrying 330 crates of bees, was travelling on a highway ramp near St. Leonard when the load shifted and the truck overturned shortly after 6 a.m.
When the truck landed on its side, many of the crates each containing four hives broke open.
With the impact they just went crazy, said beekeeper Edmond Bellefleur, who drove from his home in nearby Drummond to have a look.
The ones that were able to get out, did get out. You could see some others sticking to the hives, but once they started to open the netting and unpacking the hives one by one and putting them on pallets, then they really started to fly, and they got nasty.
RCMP Sgt. Derek Strong said officials got lucky with the weather because it was raining at the time of the accident.
Mother nature has been very co-operative with us, said Strong.
Bees dont do well in the rain, so theyre actually staying in the truck and around the truck. Our (RCMP) member on scene says there are thousands of bees hanging on the back of this truck and on the pavement right behind.
Firefighters from St. Leonard kept watch in case the bees needed to be sprayed with water.
The bees had been used to pollinate a blueberry crop in northeast New Brunswick and were being transported back to Ontario.
Seven beekeepers were called in to help deal with the accident.
The original plan was to try to flip the truck back onto its wheels, but officials from Agriculture Canada decided the best way to recover the insects was to move them, one crate at a time, to a second flatbed truck.
Police decided to hold the second truck until after dark.
Bees return to their hives at dark ... so the bees will return to their hives and theyll be on their way, said Strong.
The westbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway were closed to protect the beekeepers while they did their work.
Strong said emergency personnel, including paramedics and ambulances were on standby.
There can be quite a serious health concern, he said. Many people are allergic to bees and even if theyre not, multiple bee stings can be quite serious.
Police advised anyone with an allergy to bee stings to stay away from the community for the day.
The driver of the truck was not hurt.
Richard Duplain, vice president of the New Brunswick Beekeepers Association, said that generally, honey bees wont sting unless theyre being bothered.
Its certainly not a situation where you want to tempt problems, said Duplain, adding honey bees die once they sting someone.
Like a field with any agitated livestock, youre not going to go walking through the middle of it.
You certainly dont want to go walking through a field of disoriented, agitated and wet honey bees.
Duplain said the bees would have likely died if they had dispersed into the countryside.
Weather conditions, birds and so forth would take a toll on the unprotected bees, said Duplain, a beekeeper in Hanwell, N.B.
They dont create their own paper nest like wasps or hornets or bumblebees. Theyre pretty much at risk to the elements if theyre not under the care and attention of an experienced beekeeper.
