A Texas neighborhood was told to stay indoors after an 18-wheeler carrying hundreds of beehives flipped over, releasing millions of honeybees into the area.
The crash happened Sunday morning in Orange County, Texas, east of Houston near the Louisiana border. Emergency officials shut down roads while crews worked to unload the trailer and recover as many hives as possible after the truck tipped over in a rural neighborhood.
The truck was carrying around 400 hives. Each hive had roughly 60,000 to 80,000 bees, putting the total number of escaped honeybees at around 24 million or more.
Beekeepers rush to save hives after Texas crash
Orange County Emergency Services warned locals to stay inside while first responders and beekeepers dealt with the swarm.
“Everyone that lives in the 1130/Colony Dr. area please remain indoors,” OCESD #4 said in a statement, via KFDM. “An 18 wheeler carrying beehives has turned over and there is a heavy presence of bees in the area OCSO and ESD4 units are on scene.”
NEW: A Texas neighborhood was forced to go on lockdown after an 18-wheeler flipped over, releasing 24 *million* honeybees.
The truck was carrying more than 400 hives with about 60,000+ bees in each hive when the truck driver lost control and flipped into a ditch.
Locals in… pic.twitter.com/Lr5hSVu90r
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 23, 2026
Christie Ray, who owns nearby Queen Bee Supply, stated that volunteers from three or four other beekeeping businesses showed up to help at the crash scene.
“They just help each other, that’s what they do,” Ray said. “The beekeeping community is a great community.”
Chris Moore, owner of Moore Honey, also joined the recovery effort with his son and several employees. However, he estimated that only about a quarter of the 408 hives would survive, depending largely on how many queens remained alive after the crash.
“It’s a big loss,” Moore said. “Any time you lose that many in one shot, it’s a big loss.”
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Moore said the hives had only traveled a few miles on a trip to North Dakota when the driver made a wrong turn and ended up on narrow neighborhood roads. The trailer reportedly fell over while the driver was trying to make a tight corner.
No serious injuries were immediately reported, though KFDM said one of its photojournalists was stung while filming the swarm. Local beekeepers also put out catch boxes to collect the remaining loose bees, with Moore warning it could take some time for them to fully clear the area.
