DELAND, Fla. -- Deputies in Volusia County, Fla., want to know who released about 80,000 bees at DeLand High School on Monday, forcing it to close early, according to Local 6 News.

Video

Tarik Minor Reports

Students at DeLand High School were sent home early Monday after the beehives were glued down on school grounds and the swarms escaped, said principal Mitch Moyer. No one was stung, he added.

"We've contended with various senior pranks over the years, but this one could have been dangerous,'' said Moyer, who is allergic to bee stings.

The Volusia County Sheriff's office was investigating the incident.

If the pranksters are students, they could be prohibited from participating in the school's graduation ceremony, officials said.

Some students thought it was an ingenious end-of-year joke. "It's the best prank ever. It canceled school,'' said Emary Frederick, 18, who along with 530 seniors finishes high school Thursday.

The beehives were marked as property of Horace Bell Honey, a 40-year-old DeLand-based wholesale apiary. Beekeeper Luella Bell estimates her business will lose $800 due to the prank.

She said the stolen hives contained younger bees, which are not as likely to sting as older, more aggressive bees.

Investigators are not sure how the vandals entered the school. A vandal patrol officer, who lives on the property, reportedly did not noticed anything out of the ordinary when he made his last round of the campus at 1 a.m. Monday.

DeLand is 34 miles northeast of Orlando.