BERYL, Utah (AP) -- A southern Utah man has been attacked by bees after he accidentally disturbed their hive.

Jim Hunting, of Beryl in Iron County, says he disturbed the hive earlier this week and was stung 25 to 30 times. He doused himself in water and eventually managed to get inside his truck to escape the swarm.

Hunting was taken to a hospital in Cedar City for observation and released later the same day.

Now the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is collecting some of the insects to determine whether they're Africanized bees -- sometimes known as "killer bees." Africanized bees were detected in southern Utah earlier this year.

Sterling Bascom, an agriculture department inspector, says he suspects they are Africanized bees because of how agitated they were when he gathered some for testing on Wednesday.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.