Missouri man dies after being stung by yellow jackets

IMPERIAL, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri man's death is being blamed on an attack by a swarm of yellow jackets.

Ruth Hobbs told KMOV-TV that her husband, Joe, was mowing the yard at their home in the St. Louis-area town of Imperial in July, near stacked sheets of Styrofoam used for archery target practice.

Yellow jacket nests were inside the Styrofoam. The wasps emerged from the nests and repeatedly stung Joe Hobbs.

Ruth Hobbs said her husband went inside and suddenly had trouble breathing. Paramedics gave him multiple doses of Epinephrine and Benadryl, but Hobbs died within minutes of the attack.

Dr. Fred Buckhold of St. Louis University Hospital says deadly wasp attacks are rare, but for those who are allergic, a single bite can be deadly.