East Las Vegas ‘mystery droplets’ actually bee poop
An atmospheric mystery earlier this winter on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley has been solved.
In early February, unexplained “mystery droplets” were falling from the sky in an east Las Vegas neighborhood not far from Nellis Air Force Base.
Given that the Red Flag exercises had attracted military aircraft from around the world, was it possible some fuel was falling from planes?
The event attracted a few nightly television reports with at least one man’s house and yard being a target. But the mystery was never solved.
Until now.
No dripping jet fuel, no strange phenomenon in the atmosphere. No UFOs.
What was it?
Bee frass. Perhaps better described as bee poop.
According to the beekeeper website, HoneyBeeSuite.com, bee frass is defined as fecal droppings.
According to a Clark County news release, Scott Jelinek of the county’s Department of Environment and Sustainability was assigned to investigate. He collected samples from the neighborhood and sent them to SGS Forensic Laboratories for analysis.
While the case may seem silly, agency director Marci Henson noted that environmental issues in the community need to be taken taking seriously.
“In the end, this turned out to be a relatively harmless, natural occurrence; a bit of a nuisance, but harmless,” Henson was quoted in the news release. “We along with other agencies who were contacted felt it was important we investigate because we’ve seen in other communities the environmental and public health issues that can arise from urban and industrial pollution.”
DES officials said the offending bees will not be issued a notice of violation.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.