Killer bees responsible for Texas death

A 62-year-old Texas man was killed when he accidentally disturbed a hive of Africanized killer bees while clearing land Saturday.

Larry Goodwin, 62, of Moody, was covered in stings on every visible inch of skin, his family told KCEN.

Goodwin was clearing a brush pile on his neighbor's property when his tractor hit an old chicken coop where approximately 40,000 bees had built their hive.

The neighbor's wife and daughter were each stung dozens of times when they tried to help Goodwin. Several firefighters were stung when they responded to a 911 call.

The older woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition, McLennan County Sheriff's Deputy Matt Cawthon said, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Allen Miller, of Bees Be Gone, who destroyed the hive, said this was the sixth case of Africanized bees he has cleared so far this year.

"You can’t believe how bad they are. They make me want to get out of this business,” Miller said. “They can get up under your clothes where no other insect can go. In a hive of ordinary European bees, about 10 percent will attack if the hive is threatened, but with African bees, all of them attack you.”