Millions of bees escape after lorry overturns

Millions of honeybees escaped after a lorry transporting their hives overturned in Washington state.

The truck was carrying about 70,000lbs (31,751kg) of hives when the incident happened near Lynden, close to the Canadian border. The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) urged people to stay away from the scene as about 250 million bees were thought to have got out.

"Avoid the area due to the potential of bee escape and swarming," WCSO said on social media. The driver, who was unhurt, had apparently miscalculated a tight turn, causing the lorry trailer to roll into a ditch early on Friday, county emergency management said.

Emergency crews were assisted by several local beekeepers to help recover, restore and reset the hives, according to the sheriff's office. "Thank you to the wonderful community of beekeepers: over two dozen showed up to help ensure the rescue of millions of pollinating honeybees would be as successful as possible," the sheriff's office wrote on social media.

They believe many of the bees can be recovered, hoping the vital pollinators will return to their hives and find their queen bee over the next day or two. "The goal is to save as many of the bees as possible," WCSO said.

Many commercial US beekeepers transport their hives all around the country to help pollinate farmed crops. Honeybees, though not native to the United States, have become indispensable to its food industry, but are declining at an alarming rate.

They pollinate $15bn (£11.1bn) worth of crops each year, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, according to the US Department of Agriculture. But commercial beekeepers lost on average over 60% of their colonies over the winter, according to a survey by Project Apis m.

published in February. "These alarming numbers could significantly impact crop pollination of essential foods and harm the profitability of the nation's agriculture industry," it said at the time.

According to the non-profit organisation, one of the greatest threats is the lack of forage, which is being depleted by climate change, urban sprawl and pesticides..