In late February a swarm of 40,000 “very aggressive” bees in Pasadena, California, caused a busy city street to be closed until the threat was over. A police officer who arrived on the scene to help and two firefighters were among five people sent to the hospital with multiple stings, and many other people were stung.
The six-foot-long hive was discovered on the top floor of a local hotel. It was sprayed with a special foam to kill the bees and prevent anyone allergic to bee stings from being stung. Something had set off the bees—some noise, activity, or vibration. The hive was made up of Africanized honey bees, which attack more quickly and in greater numbers than other honey bees.