Killer Bees Not Responsible for Stinging Two Dogs to Death

by Dr. Chris

August 19, 2010 Having feared Africanized "killer bees" were responsible for stinging two dogs to death last month in Tennessee, test were done in state labs to verify the strain of bees. It turns out that they were just honeybees and NOT killer bees as people first feared.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture said that after testing, the bees were European Honeybees, which are our normal bees here.

The incident happened last month as Susan Garner was working in her yard on July 18th. She heard her Labrador Retriever barking and then found her covered with bees. The dog died almost right away.

Their other dog, a Boston Terrier, was also stung repeatedly and was taken to the vet clinic, but died two days later.

Some apiarists (bee experts) think that the bees swarmed because they wanted the dog's water dish on a hot day, and a competition broke out. This was a highly unusual incident.

The honeybee is depended upon to pollinate many different types of crops, flowers, and vegetables.

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