You might be surprised to learn how often flights are delayed because of bees. Ben Shertzer is the wildlife administrator at Pittsburgh International Airport. In 2012, had to call in master beekeeper Steve Repasky to deal with swarms of honeybees that had attached themselves to planes. Since then, Shertzer has learned a lot about bees from Repasky, and how to keep them off the aircraft.
Shertzer and Repasky approached airport management about placing hives on the property in 2013, but were told the project didn’t fit the airport’s vision. It wasn’t until Christina Cassotis came on board as CEO in 2015 that things turned around. Turns out, Cassotis’ grandfather was a beekeeper. The airport currently has 110 colonies—almost four million honeybees—spread out over 8,000 acres.
The program benefits the airport as well as the honeybees. “Swarming is reproductive behavior,” says Repasky. “In the spring, a healthy colony will split in half, and will take off in a swarm to locate a new home, traveling upwards of a mile or more. While they’re searching, they’ll stop to rest on the first solid object they can find, whether it’s the wing of an aircraft, a runway taxi light, or a luggage cart.” To combat this behavior, Shertzer and Repasky have placed 15 “swarm traps” around the perimeter of the airfield offering the bees alternative landing spots. It’s worked: Whereas the airport used to have 15 or more swarms a year interrupting air operations, in the past year they’ve had just three.
The program has other benefits besides keeping planes bee-free, and has spread to other airports. Read about the bee-havior that makes it worthwhile to keep beehives at airports at Air & Space magazine.
(Image credit: Steve Repasky/Pittsburgh International Airport)