Workers find large beehive at Miami airport

MIAMI, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A group of construction workers at the Miami airport were abuzz after discovering a 25-pound beehive under a large shipping container, officials said.

The hive was home to some 40,000 bees. Workers said they became suspicious after noticing an unusual number of honeybees on the site and began investigating. Eventually they located the hive in late December and notified the Miami-Dade Aviation Department's Wildlife Control Division, which called in a professional beekeeper to remove the hive, the Miami Herald reported

The bees were transferred to a farm in south Miami-Dade where they will continue producing honey for the farmers while pollinating local crops.

"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," Emilio T. Gonzalez, Miami-Dade Aviation's director, said in a statement. "Their efforts took a potentially dangerous situation and turned it into a decidedly positive one for the airport and the environment."

For their efforts the workers got a sweet reward: Nearly 25 pounds of bottled honey the bees have already produced.