40-Thousand Honeybees Relocated From MIA To Local Farm
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Forty-thousand bees have been relocated to southern Miami-Dade County after a sweet discovery at Miami International Airport.
In December, construction workers at MIA found a massive 40-pound beehive near their worksite.
The buzzing beehive was discovered underneath a large metal shipping container that was being used for store construction tools and supplies.
The beehive was home to some 40,000 bees and 25 pounds of honey.
Instead of exterminating the bees, a professional beekeeper was brought in to relocate the hive to a more bee-friendly location.
Following two days of work and several dozen bee stings, the beekeeper successfully moved the hive to a local farm in southern Miami-Dade County where the bees can continue to produce honey and carry out their vital role of pollinating the surrounding crops.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination.
The beehive found at MIA was harvested for the first time soon after its arrival on the farm, yielding 25 pounds of sweet golden honey that has been bottled and enjoyed by those who discovered it at MIA.
"I applaud the team at POJV and our Wildlife Control employees for being sensitive to our natural environment and giving these bees a new lease on life at one of our local farms," said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. González. "Their efforts took a potentially dangerous situation and turned it into a decidedly positive one for the airport and the environment."
