On-site bee hives continue to flourish around Pittsburgh International Airport
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - With the roar of passenger jets overhead, on a small portion of the airport grounds, if you listen closely, you can hear a distinct buzz.
Steve Repasky, the resident beekeeper, and Ben Shertzer, the Airport Wildlife Administrator, are the ones who oversee this bee farm, if you will.
Why at the airport?
"Initially, it started due to the fact that they landed on a wing of an airplane, and it delayed the flight for two hours," Shertzer said.
Since then, the program has grown from a few beehives to approximately 125 colonies, which Repasky says will probably increase to 150-175 during peak seasons.
"We can produce anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 pounds of honey at the airport."
Repasky then sells the honey and also points out that honeybees are extremely docile and important.
"The percentage of our food is pollinated by honeybees is high, so that means one out of every three bites of food can be attributed to pollination," Repasky said.
But the world isn't exactly doing good things for bees. According to Repasky, honeybees experience losses year to year upward of 40% in Pennsylvania.
Parasites, pesticides, poor nutrition, and pathogens are to blame, but at the airport, they're in a good place.
"We have a lack of pesticide use, and we have abundant, great resources as forage," Repasky said.
If you happen to come across a migrating hive, leave them be.
If you need to remove them, don't spray them with any pesticides. Call a beekeeper, and they'll remove them and give the bees a new home.