A swarm of aggressive bees attacked and killed three dogs in Arizona on Wednesday, according to the Tuscan Fire Department.
The attack happened in the southeast area of Tucson, on S. Calle Polar. The Tucson Fire Department warned the public to avoid the area as the fire crew were being dispatched to the site.
The department said in an update on Twitter that one of the dogs attacked by the swarm of bees had died and that the fire crew was foaming the bees before tending to the other dogs, which were removed from the area where they were attacked.
“We never enjoy killing precious bees, but in these rare cases it is necessary,” the fire department said.
The department initially said that the dogs might have a rough few days following the attack, but should survive. In an update, the department said the other two dogs had died. “The other dogs passed away shortly after arriving at the vet. Please be mindful of your animals always, but particularly when there are bees on your property,” the statement read.
Bee swarms are a recurring problem in Arizona, especially during the summer months when the weather starts to warm up, said Mesa Fire Captain Mike Castillo, reported Fox 10 Phoenix.
“As the sun starts to come out throughout the day, what will happen is bees are transient and they follow the queen, and they basically create a hive around the queen. The queen will move to a location, and they will set up the hive in a cooler area. They may stay for a few hours to days,” Castillo said.
In addition, during the summer months, the number of hives increase, and this means that colonies of bees will end up breeding new queen bees.
The Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences stated that bee swarms are usually tranquil insects that have little interest in harming humans, and if left alone, they usually go elsewhere and move on.
