Tractor trailer hauling 15 million bees crashes on I-95 in Maine

Max Sullivan, Portsmouth Herald

CLINTON, Maine — A tractor trailer hauling millions of bees rolled over on Interstate 95 Thursday night, according to state police.

Approximately 15 million bees were being brought to Washington County to pollinate blueberry fields when police say a tractor trailer carrying them rolled over at mile 141 northbound in Clinton around 7 p.m.

Maine State Police spokesperson Shannon Moss said the driver was cut off by another vehicle, causing the rollover.

The driver, she said, was transported to the hospital with complaints of pain. More information about the driver's condition was not immediately available.

A tractor trailer carrying approximately 15 million bees rolled over Thursday night in Clinton, Maine. Officials say most of the bees were contained, intended for pollinating blueberry fields in Washington County.
A tractor trailer carrying approximately 15 million bees rolled over Thursday night in Clinton, Maine. Officials say most of the bees were contained, intended for pollinating blueberry fields in Washington County.

Police said the bees were mostly contained. Authorities were assisted by the Clinton and Burnham fire departments, the Maine Department of Transportation, Dostie’s Towing and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF).

Jim Britt, spokesman for the DACF, said there were around 450 hives on the truck, each one with an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 bees. He said an estimated 40,000 and 50,000 hives travel to Maine annually to pollinate blueberries.

Britt said state police coordinated with Jen Lund, DACF Maine State Apiarist. He said they immediately alerted her of the incident.

"Jen, in turn, communicated with commercial beekeepers from Downeast," Britt said. "Those beekeepers arrived at the scene and acted."

The beekeepers banded together with Lund, according to Britt, to load the hives on pallets on a replacement truck.

"As I understand it, bees returned to the hives and made their way to Washington County," he said.

Bees are critical to the blueberry population in Maine, according to farmers in the state. Lisa Hanscom of Welch Farm in the Washington County town of Roque Bluffs, Maine, said the native population of bees seems to have improved. Still, she said, farmers like herself rely on imported bees to make sure their blueberries grow.

"Without the bee population, of course, we're not going to have a lot of pollinations," Hanscom said. "It's very important."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Tractor trailer hauling 15 million bees crashes on I-95 in Maine

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