By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO COUNTY - A Millsap couple were transported Wednesday to Palo Pinto General Hospital with multiple bee stings when they were swarmed while mowing.

According to officials, the incident occurred around 8 p.m. Wednesday when Royce and Elaine Littlefield were at their property on McClure Ranch Road off of Farm-to-Market Road 919.

ÒWe went out there and got the tractor out of the barn, changed the oil and hooked up the mover,Ó Elaine Littlefield told the Index.

Royce Littlefield, 62, was mowing with a tractor and a brush hog around the barn when the bees swarmed him. Officials said he made a pass with the mower right past the barn and was making a second sweep when the bees attacked. Officials estimated the tractor was approximately 25 to 30 feet from the barn at the time.

ÒI guess the vibrations or the noise or maybe something hit the barn that agitated them,Ó Elaine Littlefield commented. ÒThey were a swarm. They kept filling up the cab of the tractor.Ó

When attacked, her husband jumped off his tractor and ran to a water tank, yelling for her.

ÒHe came around the barn and they were all over his shirt, his head,Ó Littlefield recalled. ÒI ran over there trying to get his shirt off. É He went under the water but when he surfaced, he said they were always waiting for him.Ó

Littlefield said she submerged her head in the tank in an attempt to get the bees off her face before running to the truck and driving it to her husband. While she drove to her husband and got him inside the cab, she was able to call 911.

ÒWe wouldn't have lasted another five minutes,Ó Littlefield said. ÒWe probably had 200 or 300 bees in the cab [of the truck]. I turned the air on. A lot were still trying to get inside the truck.Ó

The couple intersected Palo Pinto First Responders and the Gordon ambulance at the juncture of U.S. Highway 180 and Ross Watson Road.

ÒAll those boys were great,Ó praised Littlefield. ÒThey were amazing. É They got credit cards and flicked them [the bee stingers] out. One of his arms was completely covered. It was one of the first things they did. [If they hadn't], I don't think he'd be here.Ó

She estimated that her husband received between 800 and 1,000 stings while she received between 500 to 800 stings. They were taken to PPGH and were released Friday.

While Littlefield confirmed they are doing better, she observed, ÒWe look kind of like we've been in a battle [and] in a way, we have.Ó

Palo Pinto County Fire Marshall Barry Gill said the Palo Pinto County Extension Agent sent samples of the bees to Texas A&M; in College Station to determine what kind of bees they are and if they are Africanized or killer bees. Africanized bees are the result of cross breeding between African honeybees and European honeybees and are often noted for their aggression.

ÒThe hive is in the barn but we didn't go in the barn,Ó Gill said, adding that the insects were still flying around outside on Thursday. He anticipates having the results back next week.

ÒI think we are really very fortunate,Ó Littlefield remarked. ÒIt was like on a horror movie. Not a good experience.Ó

To her knowledge, they haven't experienced bee problems like that since her family first owned the acreage in 1932.

ÒWe've never had this kind of problem. Wasps and yellow jackets, but not the bees,Ó Littlefield said. ÒÓIt was kind of strange they decided to go into the barn. We're going to have to get somebody to exterminate it.Ó

Based on what her family told her when two members went back to the barn Thursday with the county extension agent, Littlefield said the nest is inside on the wall.

According to news reports, Africanized bees attacked a family in Copperas Cove on July 8, inflicting more than 700 stings upon two adults. On June 22, a Carlton man was swarmed and the bees killed his 60-pound dog.