Four people in La Mesa, Calif. are recovering in the hospital after being attacked by a swarm of “killer” bees.
A 79-year-old woman was stung 30 to 50 times by the Africanized bees. Her 82-year-old husband was stung 20 times, San Diego 6 News reported Thursday.
The two other victims include a 36-year-old woman and her 5-year-old son.
The La Mesa Fire Department and a professional beekeeper were called in to destroy the hive located on the roof of a house.
"They (the bees) have a bad attitude,” beekeeper Mike Zito told the news station. “They're a lot more aggressive, and they're a lot more territorial."
Firemen used a fire extinguisher with soapy water to “neutralize” the hive.
On Saturday, a 53-year-old man was hospitalized after being stung "a couple thousand times" in what authorities are calling the worst bee attack around Las Vegas in 20 years.
Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison said the man accidentally disturbed a nest of "killer" bees when he overturned a boulder while operating a backhoe.
The man was listed in stable condition Monday in the intensive care unit at St. Rose Dominican Hospital-Siena campus.
While not native to the U.S., Africanized bees are well established in southern Nevada.
In 2000, a 77-year-old Las Vegas woman was stung about 500 times and survived. In 2003, a horse in Pahrump died after being attacked.
Allison says he has been with the department for 20 years, and can't recall such a bad attack around Las Vegas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox