81-Year-Old Man Hospitalized After Hundreds of Killer Bees Attacked Him For Three Hours

Killer bees attacked an 81-year-old man for three hours outside his home in Oklahoma, United States, leaving him hospitalized with a broken hip and numerous stings throughout his body.

The Oklahoma man was unable to immediately call for help after his phone was "temporarily locked" due to the input of several wrong passcodes, according to reports.

The man survived the long, gruesome ordeal after a Good Samaritan passing in the area called for help. Based on recent updates, the man seemed to be already in stable condition and recalled to local U.S. media about what occurred. However, it is unclear why the bees attacked the man in the first place but scientists may have an answer for that, based on previous related cases of bee attacks on humans.

Oklahoma Bee Attack

Carl Amos was just mowing the lawn outside his home outside the town of Maysville on May 26 when hundreds of bees out of nowhere assaulted him and stung him relentlessly, the Independent U.K. reported.

During the incident, apparently, no one outside his home was around to help him instantly and the failure to call 911 due to the temporarily locked phone prolonged the bee sting operation.

Amos also applied the technique known as a distress signal used in the wilderness, so he fired his carried handgun toward the sky three times. However, no immediate help came.

During an interview with the Washington Post, the Maysville resident recalled he attempted to escape the killer bees but he tripped and fell to the ground. He also realized that he suffered from a broken hip when he saw blood flowing through his pants.

Rescue Arrives

In a separate interview, Amos also told KFOR Oklahoma's News 4 that the bees tried to enter his ears and nose, describing the insects "cover inch of his body" during the last month's bee attack.

Rescue arrived to the man after workers, from a nearby machinery company, noticed Amos while returning from their lunch break. One of the workers and some of his colleagues, including a beekeeper, protected him while waiting for assistance.

Secret Bee Hive

Firefighters arrived into the scene and disperse some of the bees outside the home of Amos, who was taken to a hospital for treatment and surgery. It was during this time that a "contractor" noticed a hive of the killer bees nested up in the chimney of the Oklahoma man's home, the Independent said.

In previous cases, experts have warned that bees can be territorial and will attack anyone they perceive to be a threat to them and their colony. Although Amos was doing yard work prior to the attack, the bees could have been disturbed by other factors, including noise.

In the case of honeybees, the University of California, San Diego explains the pollinators generally attack only with the purpose of defending their colony. However, they will be triggered if disturbed outside their nest. In a 1990 study, the university cited its findings that common sources of honeybee aggression include vibrations, carbon dioxide, hair, dark colors, and alarm pheromone.