By Brooke Baitinger
The Wichita Eagle
COMMANCHE, Texas 鈥� An angry swarm of killer bees attacked and ultimately killed a trio of prized rodeo horses on a central Texas ranch, officials said.
The bees also attacked the horses鈥� owners in the May 9 incident, the owners and Comanche Volunteer Fire Department said in posts on Facebook.
鈥淵esterday was the scariest day of my life,鈥� owner Baillie Hillman said in the post. 鈥淚t was a day you see only in horror films and made up nightmares.鈥�
Hillman went on to describe how she and three of her horses were swarmed by African killer honey bees after letting the horses out that morning to graze in the front yard 鈥� where the owners didn鈥檛 know the bees had built a hive in one of the trees.
Hillman checked on the horses from the window later that morning but didn鈥檛 see them grazing the way she expected. Instead, they were 鈥渟tanding still with their heads between their legs,鈥� she said.
鈥淭here was a black cloud around them and I thought it was just an insane amount of flies,鈥� she said. She ran over to move the horses 鈥� and realized the black cloud was a swarm of 鈥渕illions of bees attacking my horses and now attacking me,鈥� she said.
鈥淭hey were filling my glasses and my ears and dive bombing my head,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey dug into the bun on my head and got caught in my hair.鈥�
To make matters worse, the horses seemed to have frozen up and wouldn鈥檛 budge, she said. She called her husband, James, and 911 for help.
鈥淢aybe the fire department could come and spray the horses,鈥� she said. 鈥淢aybe they had something, anything to free my horses from the terror.鈥�
Volunteer fire officials arrived with bee suits and added soap to the firetruck鈥檚 water tank to spray the horses with soapy water in an attempt to stop the bees, the department said in a May 12 post on Facebook. Rescuers took Hillman and her husband into the ambulance to treat their stings.
鈥淭he horses were finally moved away from the bees, but sustained hundreds of bee stings many of them around the horses鈥� eyes nostrils and mouths,鈥� the department said.
A local veterinarian arrived with a veterinary technician to treat the horses, while a local exterminator found the hive in the front yard.
鈥淪paring you from the absolutely unimaginable gory details, my head horse Clovis died in my back yard from anaphylactic shock,鈥� Hillman said. Her husband鈥檚 horse, Ace, was euthanized at an equine veterinary facility 鈥渁fter she went into a seizure they couldn鈥檛 get her out of.鈥�
鈥淭he vet said she鈥檚 never seen anything like this before,鈥� Hillman said.
Hillman鈥檚 5-year-old 鈥渟pitfire鈥� mare named Pepper was left that night 鈥渇ighting for her life鈥� in the veterinary intensive care unit.
But the next night, the mare seized and died, Hillman said in an update.
鈥淭hey pumped her full of everything trying to bring her body out of shock but it was just too much for her little body to handle,鈥� Hillman said.
Hillman and the department urged residents in the area to be extra careful this time of year.
鈥淚t is assumed that the bees in this attack were the dreaded and feared Africanized bees due to the very aggressive and relentless attack on the people and horses, but all bees will become aggressive when defending a perceived threat against the hive,鈥� the volunteer fire department said. 鈥淭he local fire departments respond to several 鈥榖ee calls鈥� each spring and in to summer鈥�. Bees will find holes in trees 鈥� dead or alive, holes or openings in buildings 鈥� vacant or not, brush piles, junk vehicles, and even holes in the ground.
鈥淭he best practice if a hive is found is to avoid it,鈥� the department said. 鈥淚t seems most of the time a hive is found after it has been accidentally disturbed. However, the more aggressive Africanized bees will become aggressive when the perceived threat gets 鈥榯oo close鈥�. There is no established marker or boundary for what is 鈥榯oo close鈥� as engine noise from a mower or other loud noises many feet away can disturb the bees. Be vigilant and carefully check old buildings or old trees if any work will be conducted around them.鈥�
Hillman urged others to inspect their trees and property for bees.
鈥淪pray the foam on them so the hives can鈥檛 form in them,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ave a pest control guy come out in April every year to check them when they are more dormant. I promise you it鈥檚 worth it.鈥�
Comanche is about a 115-mile drive southwest from Fort Worth .
漏 2025 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).
Visit .
Distributed by