'Don't spray them. Don't spray them, because honeybees are very special, they pollinate most of our food sources'

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GETTING TO THEM AND THEN GETTING THEM OUT. BUT IT WASN’T EASY. THE BIG BUZZ STOPPED TRAFFIC ON THE SOUTHSIDE. WHEN THE PROFESSIONAL CREW FROM BURGH BEES OVERTURNED THIS MANHOLE COVER AT THE INTERSECTION OF 21ST STREET AND MARY THEY FOUND TWO SWARMS OF , HONEYBEES. USING A GENERATOR AND A BEE VACUUM, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 10,000 AND 15,000 BEES WERE CAREFULLY ROUNDED UP AND TRANSPORTED TO THEIR NEW HOME AT THE HOMEWOOD APIARY. BEEKEEPER JEFF SHAW SAYS HE RECEIVES LOTS OF CALLS LIKE THESE. >> THIS IS SWARM SEASON. THEIR COLONY ON BE ALARMED. WE CAN REMOVE IT FOR YOU. THEY ARE GENTLE. MIKE C.: THEY SAY DO NOT TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS, CALL A REPUTABLE PRO. >> DO NOT SPRAY THEM. HONEYBEES ARE SPECIAL. THEY POLLINATE MOST OF OUR FOOD SOURCE, AT LEAST TWO THIRDS OF WHAT WE EAT. YOU DON’T WANT TO KILL THEM. MIKE C.: THE KEY IS MAKING SURE THEY GOT QUEENS IN THE LITTLE HIVE WILL COME ALONG. >> WE SEPARATE HER IN A LITTLE CAGE TO PROTECT HER FROM GETTING INJURED AND TAKE THEM TO THE BE YARD. THEN WE LET HER LOOSE AND SHE WILL JOIN THE REST OF THE COLONY. MIKE C.: EDUCATIONAL FRIDAY. JEFF TELLS US IF YOU SEE BEES SWARMING, IT IS JUST THE NATURAL PROCESS OF THE BEES REPRODUCING

Advertisement Thousands of bees removed from manhole in South Side 'Don't spray them. Don't spray them, because honeybees are very special, they pollinate most of our food sources' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A big buzz stopped traffic on Pittsburgh's South Side as a professional crew from Burgh Bees overturned a manhole cover to find two swarms of honeybees. Tap the video player above to watch crews remove the bees. The manhole is at the intersection of 21st and Mary streets. Crews used a generator and a bee vacuum to remove between 10,000 and 15,000 bees. The bees were transported to their new home at the Burgh Bees Community Apiary in Homewood. Beekeeper Jeff Shaw said he receives lots of calls like these. "This is swarm season, so swarming is the bees' natural tendency to reproduce. They're typically very gentile and docile, so you don't have to be overly alarmed. Just give us a call, and we can remove it for you," said Jeff Shaw, president of Burgh Bees. Oftentimes, bees will build their colony on someone's office. Burgh Bees crews advise people not to take matters into their own hands and to instead call a reputable pro. "Don't spray them, because honeybees are very special, they pollinate most of our food sources, at least two-thirds of what we eat, so you don't want to kill them," Shaw said. Crews said the key here was making sure they got the queens in little cages to ensure the rest of the hive would come along to their new home. "The queen, basically we separate her and put her in a little cage to protect her from getting injured until we get her to the bee yard, and we will let her loose and she will join the rest of the colony," Shaw said. Shaw said if you see bees swarming, it is just the natural process of the bees reproducing. They are normally very gentle and docile.