New flight route kills millions of bees traveling along Delta

Except for the initials, Anchorage and Atlanta have little in common. Thousands of kilometers separate two US cities – and a few degrees Celsius too. Because at this time in Atlanta it is hot up to 30 degrees during the day, while in Anchorage, the capital of Alaska, it is only around 11 degrees. That was the destruction of five million bees.

They were part of an 800-pound shipment of bees to fly on Delta Air Lines from Sacramento to Alaska via Seattle. But instead of flying over the city in the northwest of the United States, the bees flew over Atlanta in the south of the country. Because, according to the New York Times, the cargo hold of the Seattle plane didn’t have much room for delivery. And then the bees in Atlanta missed their connecting flight.

Searched for help online

When beekeeper Sarah McElrea, who ordered bees for nearly 300 beekeepers in Alaska, heard about the new route and the missed flight, she knew her welcome would not be a pleasant one. After all, bees do not tolerate heat very well. They also need to be fed regularly, usually with sugar water.

Your wish for the bees to be cool has not come true. opposite of this. Thinking the bees were running away from the boxes, the staff put them outside in the sun. McElrea eventually turned to online coworkers for help.

most of the bees died

“I went to Facebook and wrote a short post on a site located in Georgia,” she told the Alaska Public newspaper. This is how she came in contact with a colleague from Atlanta. He went to the airport to see the delivery – and found that most of the bees were already dead from the heat.

To save the surviving bees, the beekeeper solicited reinforcements from the allies. They did what they could, but most of the bees didn’t make it to Anchorage. Most of the five million bees died during the journey.

Delta vows reform

Delta Air Lines says it is aware of the incident and is doing everything possible to prevent this from happening in the future. According to beekeeper McLeria, the most important thing is to inform employees that bees are not dangerous and do not sting as such. This would have prevented the workers from letting the animals out in the heat. Apparently the employees were afraid of being cut.