Police Stop Swerving Car Full Of Free-Flying Bees, Cite For Careless Driving

How would you transport five hives full of bees? For one driver, the solution was just to put them in the car and let them free-fly until arriving at the destination.

Unfortunately, there were a few hiccups in the plan, according to UPI. The Montana Highway Patrol received a complaint about the car swerving on the road with “thousands of bees” inside. When the police pulled over the vehicle, they found it was full of bees flying everywhere.

According to Bee Informed, it’s best to transport bees by first sealing their hives using #8 hardware cloth during the day, even though a few foragers will be left behind. Then seal any holes with duct tape and try to wedge the hives together to prevent a lot of moving around.

Judging from the photos provided by the police officers, the unnamed beekeeper did not follow any of those recommendations.

When asked about the insects, the driver said that they were harmless Russian honey bees.

An unusual case requires experts, so the patrol called a state apiarist (beekeeper), who said the driver’s method of transport was “very unsafe,” but not illegal. In fact, the driver did not even require a permit for the car full of bees. Still, the police officers issued a citation for careless driving.

Why was the mystery driver transporting bees in such an unusual fashion? Where was he or she going with all those insects? Was the driver covered in bee stings?

We’ll never know the answer to any of these questions, since the amateur apiarist wasn’t breaking any crime except a bit of swerving.

For that matter, isn’t it illegal to have non-native species of bees in Montana (Russian bees)?

Still, the situation could have been much worse.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a semi-truck carrying bee hives overturned in April, irritating millions of the little insects. The scene became chaotic as rescue workers tried to both save as many bees as possible, while also not get stung to death.

Luckily, emergency beekeepers arrived on the scene, using smoke to calm and disorient the bees enough for firefighters and others to do their job.

In the end, there are always hazards to transporting bees on the road, and the move can be stressful on both the hives and the beekeepers. Nevertheless, cutting some corners by just packing a car full of bees and taking off may well result in a citation for buzzed driving.

[Image Credit: Getty Images]