MIRABEL, Quebec — A jet taxied down a nearby runway, the roar of its engines merging with the steady buzz of thousands of wings. His head covered with a beekeeper’s veil, Alexandre Beaudoin lifted a frame out of one of five buzzing hives, each housing about 70,000 bees. The bees paid no attention to his intrusion — they were sedated with smoke first — and continued their work.

The hives had been in place only a few months, and Mr. Beaudoin seemed pleased with the results.

“This frame is full of eggs; this is really nice, really good info,” he said. “It tells me my hive is in really good health.”

To find these hives, you would have to travel the warren of back roads at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport, pass through a security gate, and go through a parking lot and onto a grass enclosure where a sign announces: Attention Abeilles. Beyond are the airport’s 6,000 acres.

Last year, Aeroports de Montreal, the corporation that runs both of the city’s airports, Mirabel and Montreal-Trudeau International, approached Miel Montreal, a beekeeping cooperative that Mr. Beaudoin helped to found. As part of its environmental initiative — Aeroports de Montreal was the first Canadian airport to sell its carbon credits — it wanted to start a pilot project placing beehives in an empty field. The hives were installed in June.