Beekeeper Dies After Attack by Africanized Swarm

Africanized bees appear to have claimed their first California victim.

Virgil Foster, an 83-year-old beekeeper, died Saturday at Lakewood Regional Medical Center after an attack by the highly aggressive bees last month. A formal decision on the cause of his death will made after an autopsy is conducted.

Foster was stung at least 50 times Aug. 31 while he was mowing his yard and bumped a hive that apparently had been taken over by the bees.

His son, Kevin, was stung about 10 times after he put on a beekeeping suit and pulled Foster away from the swarm and into the house. Authorities at the time said the bees continued pursuing emergency workers even after they put Foster into the ambulance.

City health officer Darryl Sexton said Foster was in critical condition when he arrived at the hospital.

“Multiple stings represent a condition of an increasing number of doses of bee toxins. Africanized honeybees and European honeybees have the same dosage of toxins,” Sexton said, adding that the lethality comes in the increasing number of stings.

“This death unfortunately brings home the fact that Africanized honeybees are a threat to our welfare, and I believe that we’ll really have to pay attention to how to identify high-risk situations,” Sexton said.

Five other people nationwide have died from Africanized bee attacks.