MCALLEN, Texas – A highly unusual bee attack claimed the lives of two pet dogs at a South Texas home late last week, according to a report from Valley Central.
The attack happened at a home Thursday morning in the 3800 block of N. 7th Ct.
The home was vacated, but the owner wouldn’t comply with the city to let them extricate the hive. So, city officials had to obtain a warrant to get inside, Valley Central reports.
The bees, identified as Africanized honey bees, attacked the two dogs and a few people a day earlier. City officials said this was unusual behavior for the bees, who are usually not aggressive unless they are threatened or provoked.
“Typically Africanized bees have a memory of three days,” Devon Johnston from R9 Hive & Honey told Valley Central. “So when they get disturbed by someone using a lawn mower or some loud noise, they are going to be on high alert for three days.”
Johnson told Valley Central that she believes the bees were agitated by someone who then ran off near the two dogs.
The dogs, who were in a fenced patio, then became the target of the bees’ stings, Johnson said.
“The [dog’s owner] took me into the residence where the dogs were and there were hundreds of dead bees in the patio,” Johnston told Valley Central. “He had sliding glass doors and there were muddy paw prints and even a little bit of blood from where the dogs were desperately trying to get into the house.”
Though the hive was inside a vacant home, Johnston said it was apparent that someone had tried to cover it up with foam.
The bee hive was removed and no other injuries were reported.