Airline bee incidents could sting

For reasons that are completely unknown, the spread of killer bees was long laughed off as something we'd just have to live with – even though it could have been prevented. But a 2006 article said killer bees had reached Florida after "decades of hype" – posing a threat to "basically everyone who ventures outdoors." These "decades of hype" provided plenty of time to prevent it, but not a damn thing was done about it. Killer bees had already appeared in the southwestern U.S. in the 1990s. At least 14 people in the U.S. had been killed by them.

In Florida, killer bees killed animals and menaced utility workers, firefighters, reporters, and even police. People were trapped in their homes by swarms of the dangerous insects. The decades-long inaction on killer bees forced residents to bee-proof their homes.

Now there's been another incident involving bees. They might not be killer bees, but this episode underscores the dangers that may be present.

Last month, a shipment of 5 million honeybees heading from Sacramento to Anchorage was rerouted all the way to Atlanta by Delta Airlines. The bees were being shipped to over 300 beekeepers in Alaska. Most of the bees died when they were stranded on the hot tarmac in Atlanta. The crates were also placed so the bees could not access their food.

It's bad enough that this shipment was destroyed in a way that was completely avoidable. But here's a terrifying question we can't find an answer for: Are bees shipped on the same flights as passengers? Maybe the reason nobody can find an answer is that they might not like the answer.

The prospect of crates containing millions of bees being on passenger flights is a disaster in the making. If you don't understand why this is dangerous, ask an adult. Can you imagine 5 million bees swarming a passenger flight? No people should be anywhere near these bees unless they have special training and perhaps a beekeeping suit.

Even last month's incident could have threatened many people. When the bees first got to Atlanta, they were kept in a cooler. But many of the bees escaped from the cooler – right there inside the airport, no less.

At the end of the day, we need to make sure that bees are considered hazardous cargo that may not be transported on passenger flights. If this isn't a rule or law already, it ought to be.