A man from Texas was killed and a woman injured by an agitated hive of Africanized bees Saturday. Larry Goodwin was driving a tractor on his family’s land when he hit a pile of wood, disturbing the hive, the reports. Goodwin ran toward the nearest house and turned a hose on himself, but the bees pursued him. A woman who came to his aid was also stung and is listed in serious condition. Goodwin was pronounced dead on the scene.
African bees were brought over to Brazil in 1957 and have since mated with European bees, moving north into the southern U.S. Since the 1990s, eight people have been killed by the hybrid Africanized bees.
While they posses the same venom as their European brethren, Africanized hybrids have an impulse to sting that’s 10 times greater. They’ll also follow victims up to a quarter of a mile and remain aggressive up to 24 hours after an initial attack.