Two park employees have been attacked by 100,000 bees at Picnic Island Park in Port Tampa, Florida. WFLA reported that Rodney Pugh and David Zeledon were removing debris near the park entrance when their overturned an old truck tire and thousands of bees, as many as 100,000 swarmed around them.
"It was like bees all in the cab," Pugh, 41, said to ABC Action News. "So I'm trying to swat, and they say never to swat bees."
The two men ran away from the bees, but The Huffington Post reported that they each got almost 100 stings before they were able to fully get away from the swarm.
"It was like a thousand little knives poking me in my body," said Pugh, 41 to ABC Action News.
Pugh said that his ears were throbbing in pain to ABC Action news. The two men were hospitalized and given antibiotics as well as swelling reducers.
"It's the worst feeling because you just had so many and they wouldn't stop," Pugh said.
It is reported that the bees are most probably Africanized bees or killer bees which are similar to regular bees that produce honey but they are more aggressive and attack. Insect I.Q's Jonathan Simkins helped exterminate the hive. He said to ABC Action news that he believes the bees probably came from Africa or South America from a port ship.
Jason Deeringer from Insect I-Q told WFLA that Africanized bees "have a horrible attitude. Highly defensive."
Simkins said there are issues with wild bees in the area. "The problem that we're having is the wild bees," Simkins said to ABC Action news. "This pile of rubbish wasn't moved for three years. So this colony's been breeding and sending out colonies."
Simkins added, "The European bee will swarm once or twice a year. The African bee will swarm up to 17 time."
The Huffington Post reported that Simkins said tat the pile of debris hadn't been moved in three years and that the colony had probably "been breeding and sending out colonies" that now live in other areas nearby.
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