Thousands of bees removed from plane

New York - A swarm of thousands of bees were gathered on the wing of a plane and a professional beekeeper had to be called out. Stephen Repasky removed the bees from the plane.

The bees are a protected species that cannot legally be killed. The swarm contained thousands of bees and delayed the Delta Air Lines flight from Pittsburgh International Airport to New York. Stephen Repasky, master beekeeper, told KDKA-TV, that he was called to the scene on Wednesday as the crews were trying to fuel the plane, according to Fox News. The Washington Post reports that, bees were on the wing of a Delta Air Lines flight from Pittsburgh International Airport to New York. Repasky says that these swarms form when colonies become too big and the queen leaves half of her bees and goes in search of a new home. It is not unusual to see swarms of up to 25,000 to 30,000 bees. Repasky believes that there is a wild honeybee colony at the airport somewhere. The flight was delayed for around 20 minutes as astonished passengers took mobile phone pictures of Repasky at work. Repasky has been called to the airport, four times this year. Two swarms were removed in May and one in June. The bees were removed from equipment, not planes as in this situation. The increase of bees is due to the weather conditions this year, according to ABC news.