San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)

MILLIONS OF BEES BEING SHIPPED TO ALASKA DIE

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About 5 million honeybees bound for Alaska last weekend got waylaid when Delta Air Lines routed them through Atlanta, where most of the bees died after being left for hours in crates on the ground during hot weather.

The bees were the first of two shipments ordered by Alaska beekeeper Sarah Mcelrea from a distributo­r in California. The bees were to be used to pollinate apple orchards and nurseries in Alaska, where they are not native.

But the bees were bumped from their original route to Anchorage, Alaska, and instead put on a f light to Atlanta, where they were to be transferre­d to an Anchorage-bound plane, according to Alaska Public Media.

Mcelrea said she worried when the 800-pound shipment didn’t arrive in Atlanta in time to make the connecting flight. The next day, she said, Delta told her some bees had escaped, so airline workers put the crates holding the bees outside.

In a panic, Mcelrea reached a beekeeper in Atlanta, who rushed to the airport and discovered that most of the bees had died from the heat, according to Mcelrea.

In an emailed statement, Delta spokeswoma­n Catherine Morrow told The Associated Press on Friday that that the airline “was made aware of the shipment situation and quickly engaged the appropriat­e internal teams to assess the situation. We have taken immediate action to implement new measures to ensure events of this nature do not occur in the future.”

Mcelrea, who runs a business called Sarah’s Alaska Honey, said her supplier in California will replace the shipment, which was worth about $48,000. She said she is hoping Delta provides some help, although she acknowledg­ed that shipping live animals carries risk.

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