Aggressive bees kill man in Curaçao; Officials warn public

There have been several victims of attacks from aggressive bees in Curacao over the last week. A 62-year-old man passed away as a result of an attack. A dog and a parrot also died after being stung by the bees. The police on the island have given residents guidelines on how to deal with the attacks.

The man was attacked when he was attempting to clean a terrain on the eastern part of the island. His colleague survived the attack by fleeing into a nearby building.

Local media outlets have reported that police “have their hands full” with reports of bee attacks. Police were reportedly called from three different areas on the island in connection with this type of attack.

The Ministry of Health, Environment, and Nature has distributed a warning, which states that “bees only turn aggressive when their nest is being threatened.” The government advises people who are near a nest to refrain from disturbing the insects, leave the area immediately, and do not try to kill the bees or knock them off your body.

Local beekeepers fear that there has been experimentation with crossbreeding different bee species. As a result, more aggressive bees may now be present on the island. Beekeepers find it striking that smoke, which was previously effective in driving bees away, no longer seems to work in recent incidents.