Montana Highway Patrol pulled the driver of the vehicle over after they received complaints that he was driving erratically. The man told the police that he was transporting five hives of Russian honey bees. Each hive contained thousands of the bees.
At first, the police thought the bees were being transported in an illegal manner. However, they contacted the state’s apiarist, who told them the man didn’t need any special permits to transport the bees. The apiarist did tell the police that carrying loose bees inside the vehicle is not safe.
The driver told the police that the bees were harmless. The officers didn’t arrest the driver, but he was cited for careless driving.
It was in the mid 90s when Russian honey bees were imported to America. They were imported in order to provide a solution to the reduction in numbers of domestic bees, as they were being wiped out by factors such as severe winters. Russian bees are known for surviving challenging conditions and they are known for being more hardy than domestic bees.
