Farmer stung to death by giant swarm of 40,000 'killer bees'

THE family of a Texas farmer, Larry Goodwin, says that "every inch" of his body was stung by a massive swarm of 'killer bees' that caused his death at the weekend.

A woman who tried to rescue 62-year-old Goodwin is in a serious condition in hospital after the swarm of an estimated 40,000 Africanised honeybees began to attack her and her daughter, the Waco Herald-Tribune reports.

Goodwin was driving his tractor on his property near the Texas city of Moody on Saturday when he struck an old chicken coop in which the bees had built a hive. The insects immediately began to attack him, forcing him to run to a nearby outbuilding and try to ward them off using a garden hose.

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But the farmer was quickly overwhelmed by the number of bees and their legendary aggression. Experts believe as many as 40,000 were guarding 22 honeycombs in the giant hive. Goodwin was pronounced dead at the scene and his would-be rescuers – a woman and her daughter - were taken to hospital after being stung about 100 times. The older woman is in a serious condition, authorities say.

Africanised bees were already known as "killer bees" before they arrived in the US from Central America about 15 years ago. The "highly aggressive" hybrid of the Western and African honeybees has a reputation for swarming its prey and attacking relentlessly in large numbers.

Allen Miller, a bee-removal specialist who cleared the giant hive after Goodwin was killed, says he is being called on to destroy a growing number of Africanised bee-hives in Texas. "You can't believe how bad they are. They make me want to get out of this business," Miller told the Tribune-Herald. "They can get up under your clothes where no other insect can go."