WINDBER, Pa. -- 80,000 Bees Removed From Windber Warehouse

WINDBER, Pa. – A massive bee colony containing 80,000 bees was removed from the Carol’s Carpet Warehouse building in Windber on Wednesday.

Because of the current bee shortage, all of the bees were moved properly from the warehouse and not killed. Officials said the colony had been growing in the building for several years, which was evident by warehouse worker Don Benito’s description of the hive.

“(The hive) is 9 feet long and about 18 inches wide and 18 inches thick, and there are nine rows of cone in it,” Benito said.

The workers had learned to deal with the colony over the past couple of years, but recently the bees began irritating the workers to the point where the situation had to be taken care of.

“Over the last two years, it’s gotten worse and worse to where (the bees) were landing on us,” Benito said. “They were in my truck when we were leaving work, and we knew something had to be done.”

The hive was so large that veteran beekeepers from Ligonier were called in to get the bees out quickly and carefully.