A farmer in the northwest Colombian Antioquia department dies after an attack by Africanized bees, El Colombiano reported Tuesday.
Juan Bautista Londoño Casteñeda, 64, was working trimming the brush from the banks of the El Salado creek in the village of Santa Ines when he was attacked by a swarm of the aggressive bees, whose hive was located a few meters from the water, according to the commander of the volunteer firefighters of the area, Gonzalo Correa.
Londoño was reported missing by his family on Sunday and on Monday he was found dead, a victim of hundreds of bee stings to his head and face.
“To assist with the [bees’] uprising… we have to send for two expert firemen who can control the insects, while following the legal fomalities,” Correa said.
However, the townspeople had told to the firefighter that they planned to destroy the nest immediately, because of the danger is poses to the community, who frequent the banks of the creek to bathe or collect sand.
Captain Correa also said that there was another attack by Africanized bees two weeks earlier, in which an old man and a man of 20 had to be hospitalized after being stung in the town of Taparto.
An expert on Africanized bees, retired firefighter Gardiezquier Palacio, warned that the so-called “killer” bees are adept at distinguishing scents and are attracted to the aroma of cinnamon, chocolate, sugar, coffee, and raspberry. They can be lured by lotions or aftershave that imitate their favorite smells.