Although bees are beloved by humanity, it’s often the kind of love that’s best felt from far away. Unfortunately, one man in Las Cruces, New Mexico accidentally experienced the wondrous beauty of bees from way too close when he found 15,000 of them in his car. All of whom swarmed his vehicle’s cabin in under 15 minutes while he was grocery shopping at Albertson’s.
Las Cruces Fire Department's Jesse Johnson gets some national media coverage for his off-duty beekeeping action.https://t.co/RE44aZXkid pic.twitter.com/7yMxUxLk1e
— City of Las Cruces (@LasCrucesGov) March 31, 2021
Geekologie reported on the event, which occurred on a Sunday afternoon in late March. According to the Las Cruces Fire Department, the man discovered the bees in his car after he began to drive off. Although it was before he exited the supermarket’s lot that he noticed the hunk of stinging insects in his backseat.
Good Morning America
To remove the bees, the LCFD called in an off-duty firefighter who’s also a part-time beekeeper, Jesse Johnson. The fire-keeper (we’re going to make that a thing) arrived on the scene, donned a protective suit, and lured the bees out of the car using a portable, artificial hive and lemongrass oil; the latter of which Johnson used to lure in worker bees.
As for damages, only a single person reported a sting, and it wasn’t even the vehicle’s owner. The story also had a happy ending for the bees as well, who are now on Johnson’s property outside of city limits.
“Spring is the most common time for bees to swarm,” Johnson told Good Morning America. He also said in the segment that—much to our surprise—”bees are very docile” while they’re swarming. That’s the case because bees swarm after they’ve fed, and also don’t have any honey stores to protect. Which goes to show us all: If you’re “hangry,” go ahead and eat something. One way or another it’ll save lives.
Feature image: Good Morning America
