Jun 3, 2008 7:40 pm US/Eastern
Thousands Of Honeybees Removed Near PPG Place
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Crews faced a challenge today removing a massive swarm of honeybees that took up residence earlier this week around PPG Place.
The bees took up residence along the Third Avenue side of the building on Monday. Officials say their challenge was to take away as many of the bees alive as possible.
Officials say about five to 10 thousand honeybees had congregated on just one sign alone, and that forced crews to block off part of the street.
One expert says those bees were just resting there and would have eventually moved.
"They break off from an existing colony and look for a place to create their own hive," said bee hunter Jim Abraham.
Armed with an empty box and a canister of cold water, Abraham took to collecting the bees earlier today.
He says water calms the bees.
Some won't make it, but the majority will. Experts say that's important because honeybees worldwide are falling victim to an unexplained phenomenon called "Colony Collapse Disorder.' That means that their colonies are dying off and it is creating a major honeybee shortage.
"I prefer to take honeybees alive, release them, or give them to a bee keeper. They're only destroyed when it was absolutely necessary," says Abraham.
In this case, he was able to remove the majority of them still alive.
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