BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 10, 2024
The crash of a tractor-trailer carrying 15 million bees in Clinton Thursday evening likely won’t hamper Maine’s blueberry harvest this year, according to a local bee expert. The single truck could inhibit a small grower that may only place one order of bees annually, said Peter Cowin, the founder and former president of the Penobscot County Beekeepers Association. But, for a large blueberry producer such as Wyman’s, one damaged truck likely won’t hurt the company’s harvest. “In terms of state crop pollination, this truck is likely a drop in the bucket,” Cowin said. While 15 million may seem like an unimaginable number of bees, Cowin said the truck is actually a fraction of the 3 billion out-of-state bees Maine receives each year to pollinate crops.