May 7 (UPI) — A Pennsylvania beekeeper is in the process of attempting to rescue a hive that took up residence in an unusual location: a Philadelphia sewer.
Resident Thom Duffy said the bees have been living underneath a parking space on Lambert Street for about two or three weeks, leading neighbors to block off the space to prevent cars from being swarmed and people being stung.
Mark Berman of Anna Bees Honey was notified of the situation by local residents and installed a device designed to coax the bees out of the sewer and into a box for safe transport. He said lifting the sewer cover would not be advisable, as it could cause the hive to become aggressive.
He said it was the first time he has seen bees living in a sewer.
“It is kinda weird,” Berman told WPVI-TV.
Berman, who estimated the hive could include up to 10,000 bees, said the process of evacuating them from the sewer could take weeks.
“We had fun thinking of names for sewer honey, but the truth is, any honey wouldn’t be coming from the sewer,” Berman wrote on social media. “If I’m successful in getting the bees to relocate into the trap box, they would build new comb and produce fresh honey.”