ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Airports all over the World are turning into Giant Bee Hives

Airports, some of the busiest places, are now becoming unlikely hosts for bees. Not content with mechanical winged contraptions, airports all over the world, from Germany to the US, are stepping up their sustainability game and installing apiaries. Next time you're down the airport concourse to your gate, stop for a second and look outside. You might be in for a surprise!

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
March 3, 2015 - Updated on April 29, 2023
in Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Airports, some of the busiest places, are now becoming unlikely hosts for bees. Not content with mechanical winged contraptions, airports all over the world, from Germany to the US, are stepping up their sustainability game and installing apiaries. Next time you’re down the airport concourse to your gate, stop for a second and look outside. You might be in for a surprise!

Buzzing airports

buzzing airport
Beekeepers Bob Redmond, John Woodworth, and David Feinberg examine a hive at the SeaTac Airport in Washington. Photo © Rod Hatfield

Flying is not only costly for your pocket, but also to the environment.  It accounts for four to nine per cent of all global emissions – a disproportionate amount considering the number of people who fly versus those who drive, for instance. Low cost fairs and and an ever wealthier middle class coming out of developing countries mean there are more flights today than ever.  Since 1990, CO2 emissions from international aviation have increased 83 per cent. Recognizing the part they play in the man-made climate change framework, the industry has take steps to curb its emissions and overall carbon footprint. Some solutions include using more efficient engines or new fuels like biofuel/jetfuel mixes.

Airports themselves are also taking steps in reducing their carbon print. San Diego was the first US airport to adopt a formal sustainability policy back in 2008, and in 2012, the oceanside airport, became the first in the U.S. to install LEDs on its runways, guard lights, and airfield signs. Other airports focus their sustainable efforts on conservation, like LAX.  The airport has 307 acres of sand dunes voluntarily set aside as a nature preserve. Native plants and animals, including the delicate El Segundo Blue Butterfly (among the first insects put on the federal endangered species list back in 1976), are thriving again as part of this restoration project.

airport apiaries
Photo: Rod Hatfield

A popular trend among airports seems to be installing apiaries, odd as it may seem to some. The first to do so was  Hamburg Airport in Germany in 1999, quickly followed by Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Dresden, Hannover, Leipzig/Halle, Nuremberg and Munich. Inspired by their success, other countries followed like  Malmo Airport in Sweden, Copenhagen, Chicago’s O’Hare, Seattle-Tacoma International and Lambert-St. Louis International.

airport apiaries
Photo: Rod Hatfield

Bees thrive in urban environments where there’s flower diversity and no pesticides. At the same time, urban spaces are crowded and bees are left with little room to mass a proper hive. That’s where airports come in – they have plenty of space.

airport apiaries
Photo: Rod Hatfield

In May 2011, the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) installed an apiary of 28 beehives at O’Hare. The project was managed by Brenda Palms Barber, the founder and chief executive of Sweet Beginnings, a nonprofit group that provides job training to men and women recently released from prison. Today, the apiary has expanded to 75 beehives which are home to over a million bees. It’s the largest apiary at any airport in the world and the first major on-airport apiary in the U.S. Each year, the O’Hare apiary makes thousands of pounds of honey which it process on site and distributes it at O’Hare in the Farmer’s Market in the Terminal 3 Rotunda. The honey you buy at the airport is really made there. Amazing!

airport apiaries
Photo: Rod Hatfield

In Europe, airports are also using the beehives as biological sensors. Pollen and honey are analyzed and used as biomarkers for pollution. Malmo airport first began to do this in 2009 and has since reported that each year levels of heavy metals, volatile organic hydrocarbons and polyaromatic hydrocarbons are well below European Union limits.

RelatedPosts

Can drones replace bumblebees and stave off a food crisis?
Bumblebees’ remarkable sense of smell guides them safely home
Temperature extremes on both ends impair bees’ flight, raising new concerns about climate change
Startled bees let out an adorable ‘whoop’ when a hive-mate bumps into them

But is it a good idea to keep bees at airports? They seem to like it and mind little of the noise. In all events, the beehives are typical placed a few miles away from the runaway. Oddly enough, a Delta flight departing Pittsburgh International Airport for NYC was delayed after thousands of bees swarmed to the plane’s body. The buzzing critters bumrushed the craft’s wing just as the plane’s crew was preparing to fuel it. The Pittsburgh airport does not have in fact an apiary, and the bees likely came from some place nearby looking for a new nest.

airport apiaries
Photo: Rod Hatfield

While airport apiaries might have little impact per se, they do raise awareness on an already troubled populace. In the past couple of years, bees around the world have been dying in great numbers. Each year, on average, there are 30% less bees, with the rate dwindling a bit in recent years. Though not yet entirely certain, environmental factors like pesticides, disease or habitat loss have been attributed to the massive die off, called colony collapse disorder.

If you’d like to learn more, check our this interview Science Friday made with Bob Redmond, a beekeeper and director of The Common Acre, which manages the apiary at Sea-Tac airport in Washington State.

Tags: Airportbeescolony collapse disorder

Share14TweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

Related Posts

Biology

Scientists Create a ‘Power Bar’ for Bees to Replace Pollen and Keep Colonies Alive Without Flowers

byTudor Tarita
3 weeks ago
Animals

How on Earth did this small bee get on an island in French Polynesia?

byMihai Andrei
1 year ago
A male leafcutter bee of the genus Megachile. Image credits: Andrew Murray.
Animals

Bees may have originated from an ancient supercontinent

byFermin Koop
2 years ago
Image credit: Pixabay.
Animals

Bumblebees’ remarkable sense of smell guides them safely home

byFermin Koop
2 years ago

Recent news

A Nearby Star Sings a Stellar Tune, and Scientists can Hear Its Age

May 14, 2025

Inside Amazon’s Secretive Plan to Blanket Earth with Internet from Space

May 14, 2025

Wild Chimpanzees Use Medicine To Treat Each Other’s Wounds

May 14, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.