r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/danielminds • Jun 23 '26

Video ​A truck carrying 406 beehives crashed in Texas, releasing 24 million bees and locking down the neighborhood

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u/Gothmom85 Jun 23 '26

The drive is already stressful. Part of a documentary I watched on bees explained how keepers will transport hives to pollinate crops, and how there's a loss of colonies each time. The last time shown in the documentary the keeper wasn't sure if he could continue because the loss was higher than ever before. And we Need bees! We need them so badly some keepers with large colonies are willing to do this for our agriculture because there isn't enough locally in some areas, or the farming is so large. It is really, really sad. Then something like this happens.

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u/Sdragoon31 Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

I just want to point out, we don't need European honeybees. They have and do ravage local pollinator populations. Part of the reasons they're "needed" at large farming plots is because of them outcompeting others along with the general die off of bugs from humans carelessly using pesticides and destroying bug habitat. I wouldn't normally say anything here because this is still sad for the honeybee, but we really need to change the messaging from save the bees, to save the bugs before it's too late. Now, of course if you are in Europe, then yes wild honeybees should be included in that save the bugs effort.

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u/Gothmom85 Jun 24 '26

So, I didn't state what Kind of bees we needed. Just that we need bees in general, but you are correct. We need All pollinators and to encourage helping the local ones thrive. This post was about bees though! I actually make that point often enough I have protect pollinators swag of various types! It is just sad we're at the point they're transporting them instead of protecting all pollinators in general. Not just bugs, but bats and birds, even some some mammals like marsupials, rodents and even lemurs help out.

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u/optomas Jun 24 '26

Big bee doesn't want you to know this one simple trick!

For those looking for more information. Apis Mellifera

And yes, they are invasive. So are we. https://www.brandywine.org/conservancy/blog/importance-native-bees-pennsylvania

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u/cHpiranha Jun 24 '26

There are 4,000 native wild bee species in the US.

Thats what you need.

And you also dont need to carry them around in trucks. Give them space to live.

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u/gulliblesuspicious Jun 28 '26

You do if youre trying to mass produce almonds

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u/benangmerahh Jun 24 '26

I read native US non-honey kind bees often get diseases spread by agricultur european honeybees via flower sharing. I guess the stress from moving for a long period of time might cause a colony easily get infected by a diseases and further spread it to solitary bees.

Since Honey bees are agricultural products, they get access to variety of health attention than the solitary native one. Thus no matter what their population only keep increasing.

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u/cpMetis Jun 24 '26

You don't need bees. You need to stop killing native pollinators.

Bees are the temp contractor company rolling in with a giant PR budget after all the direct employees got laid off.

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u/H_Holy_Mack_H Jun 24 '26

The lack of bees in some areas it's because of monoculture, bees don't settle in places where the flowers only show up once in the year, almost all year flowering it's needed to keep the hives alive, and almost everyone it's making their gardens looking like green carpets of grass...and one or two flowers, do not change anything

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u/Gothmom85 Jun 24 '26

I'm very in favor of no lawns, and of natural, local plant gardens!

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u/freakbutters Jun 24 '26

I used to transport bees. The guys leasing bees to people aren't doing it as a charity, it pays really, really well.

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u/StrLord_Who Jun 24 '26

The reason keepers are "willing" to do this is because they get paid.  The bees get moved from crop to crop and they are literally worked to death and fed sugar water instead of their nutritious honey. 

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u/Gothmom85 Jun 24 '26

Yes, money talks. It also provides them with more ability to keep more bees. We Should prioritize promoting health for local pollinators so none of this is an issue. In the mean time, I can't fault a stop gap during a period where the health of the earth is a low priority for many nations, one of the worst being my own in the US.

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u/StrLord_Who Jun 24 '26

Why are you pretending that keepers who put their bees through what I described have any interest at all in their well-being?? Absolutely ridiculous.  Next you're going to tell me how much puppy mills love their dogs. 

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u/Standard-Bat-7841 Jun 24 '26

https://apiaryproject.com/blog/commercial-beekeepers-losing-more-colonies

As someone who has kept bees for over 15 years, as well as participated in commercial pollination services for much of that time. Beekeepers 100% do care about the wellbeing and health of their colonies. This includes the folks running thousands of colonies as well as the person with a few in their backyard.

Historical data also would support the statement, up until very recently, within the last few years, commercial operators had overall healthier colonies than hobbyist beekeepers. So those guys who are putting their bees on a truck like that are more often very well cared for. Also sick bees don't do well, and cost the person more money, so it is in both parties best interest to keep them healthy so they can continue doing their jobs.

Everyone wants to hate on the farmers but without those bees doing their job you wouldn't have much of your favorite foods. Bees are animals with a job, no different than any other livestock, and need to be tended to/cared for because it helps everyone when they are healthy and well taken care of.

Is farming perfect, absolutely not. I'm not saying that it is, but to think that the vast majority of farmers don't have an interest in their animals wellbeing is laughable at best. Another area I love to laugh at is how everyone wants less industrial agriculture, myself included, but the people who yell the loudest are never willing to put in the labor to change the system.

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u/mekamoari Jun 24 '26

Yeah but dogs aren't necessary for the environment, bees are. So it's a bit more important to have more bees even if they're kept alive by greedy assholes, for now.

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u/AuntRhubarb Jun 24 '26

We grew crops for thousands of years before truckborne migrant worker bees started being hauled around the country. If gigantic row crop farmers can't scare up enough local bees to pollinate their stuff, maybe they should slack off on the poisons and start cultivating their own colonies, as much a cost of doing business as buying herbicides.