Chaos: 5 million bees fell off a truck near Toronto

Beekeeper Mike Osborne used his hand to find the queen bee. Photo: Canadian press

Police west of Toronto on Wednesday warned drivers to keep their car windows closed after a truck dumped crates of five million bees onto the road.

Halton Regional Police said about 6 At 15:15 am local time, they received a call informing them that boxes of bee hives had fallen from under a truck and spilled onto the Guelph line in Burlington, Ontario, west of Toronto.

Beekeeper Michael Barber told the BBC that when he arrived on the scene, he encountered a «pretty crazy cloud of bees». was unlike anything he had experienced in his 11-year career.

«I hope I never experience this again,» he said.

Beekeepers Terry Faloni (left) and Tyler Trut pull bees out of a car. Photo: The Canadian Press Terry Faloni pulls out the bees with his hand. Photo: Canadian Press

Constable Ryan Anderson described the incident as «a real sight.»

«The boxes were literally standing on the road, and flocks of bees were flying around,» he said.

«The first beekeeper present at the scene appears to have been stung several times.»

The scene prompted the police to ask drivers to close their windows as they pass by and pedestrians to avoid the area.

About an hour after the police posted the notice on social media, several beekeepers contacted the police. offering help.

Eventually, six or seven beekeepers arrived at the scene, Constable Anderson said.

with bees Tristan Jameson (left) walks with bee owner Alexander Haley (center) and a beekeeper after the truck carrying Tristan swerved. Photo: The Canadian Press

At about 9:15 a.m., police reported that most of the five million bees had been safely collected and the crates taken away.

Some of the boxes have been left out so that uncollected bees can return to them on their own.

According to Canadian Honey, there are between 50,000 and 80,000 bees in a honey bee colony during the summer. Council, national association of beekeepers.