European bees killed Great Dane

By The Associated Press

Published: June 14, 2006

SAND SPRINGS -- The state Agriculture Department confirms today that testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms the bees that killed a 140-pound dog here last month were common European honey bees.

The Great Dane died May 22, about 30 minutes after being stung nearly 400 times. State agriculture officials sent dead bees to a federal lab in Arizona to ensure they did not contain strains of Africanized honey bees, or so-called "killer bees."

Agency spokesman Jack Carson says the test results confirmed DNA testing by Oklahoma State University that found they were European honey bees.

The sting of Africanized bees is virtually identical to that of European honeybees but Africanized bees are more easily agitated and tend to attack in greater numbers than European honeybees.