BURLEY - Thousands of bees are doomed to die on a cold southern Idaho highway after their hives spilled from a truck.
Sixty-four hives tipped onto the asphalt at the junction of Idaho Highway 81 and Idaho Highway 24 in Burley after one of the straps holding them onto a truck snapped.
The bees, from Belliston Brothers Apiaries Inc., were being transported to a cellar for storage over the winter.
Each hive contains about 30,000 bees. Hive boxes and other equipment shattered when it hit the road, and the bees that couldn't be recovered will likely die in the cold.
The hives were part of the company's rental business and had been due to be taken to California in February to pollinate some of that state's almond crop.
