Experts Say Wasps, Not Bees Could Be Cause Of Foxborough Man's Death

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A local beekeeper says it may not have been bees that stung a Foxborough man shortly before his death Friday.

"The distinction is very important, because honey bees get blamed for most of the stings done by wasps or yellow jackets," said Ottavio Forte, a beekeeper in Belmont. (Subscribe to Foxborough Patch for updates on this and other local stories.)

Eric Dahl was stung Saturday while blowing leaves in his backyard, the Patch reported. He died at Norwood Hospital from a heart attack. His wife, Alison, told reporters that although she didn't actually see the incident, her husband had said he was stung by bees.

Beekeeper Forte told Foxborough Patch it is possible that Dahl wasn't stung by bees, but rather a group of angry wasps nesting underground. He noted that honeybees and wasps have different behavior patterns.

"It is more difficult to assume honeybees did the stinging without more knowledge if there are beehives around," he told Patch in an email.

He's not the only one who thinks that way.

James Traniello, a biology professor at Boston University, first told the Boston Globe it is more likely that Dahl was attacked by yellow jackets nesting in the ground.

According to the CDC, thousands of people in the United States are stung by insects each year, and as many as 90–100 people die as a result of allergic reactions. The statistic might be under-reported, as deaths can be mistakenly attributed to heart attacks, sunstrokes or other causes.

RELATED: Foxborough Man Killed By Bees?

Image via Roberts and Sons Funeral Home