Local News in Brief : ‘Killer’ Bees Identified
Tests on some of the bees that apparently stung a man to death in Valinda were of the European variety and not of the “Africanized” strain known for their aggressive behavior, state officials said Thursday.
Andres Chavez, 57, died Wednesday after he was repeatedly stung by a swarm of about 8,000 of the bees outside a friend’s home in the San Gabriel Valley community.
Depending on the outcome of an autopsy scheduled for today, Chavez’s death could be the county’s first fatal bee attack in two years, county agriculture inspector Michael Pearson said.
About 200 of the bees were flown to the state Department of Food and Agriculture’s lab in Sacramento for testing. The tests revealed that the bees were not of the Africanized variety but a much more common and docile Italian strain of honeybees, officials said.
Witnesses to Wednesday’s attack said Chavez tried to collect the bees by lining a box with sugar and scooping them into it. But the bees became agitated and attacked him.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
