At Pittsburgh International Airport, the loudest buzz doesn’t always come from the planes.

Just past the runways, beyond solar fields and tangles of wild growth, more than 150 honeybee colonies are at work, thriving in what might be the most unexpected apiary in America. Their hives are invisible to passengers rushing between gates, but, across the airport’s 8,800 acres, the honeybees have turned PIT into the largest on-site bee program in the country.

This sweet operation is guided by Stephen Repasky, a master beekeeper whose earliest memories are of helping his father tend hives on the family farm in Armstrong County. His father, now in his 80s, still maintains 25 colonies of his own.

Repasky’s passion took flight in earnest during college, where a degree in wildlife biology at Penn State deepened his curiosity.

“The deeper you dig, the more fascinated you get,” Repasky says of his lifelong obsession with honeybees. “There’s no endgame with bees. It’s like a game with endless levels that you never win. But you’re always learning.”

In 2012, Repasky received an unusual call from the airport’s wildlife manager: a swarm of bees had landed on the wing of a Delta jet. Instead of exterminating the insects, the airport wanted Repasky to relocate them. “I remember looking around and thinking, this is a lot of land,” he recalls. “It’d be great to put some bees out here.”

Repasky captured the swarm and took it to one of his apiaries. He returned a few more times that year. Bees were landing on luggage carts, in maintenance sheds, along the tarmac. Each time, he suggested the airport consider establishing its own hives.

The idea languished until 2015, when Christina Cassotis became the CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Inspired by her grandfather’s own beekeeping, she greenlit the project. The initial installation of 10 experimental hives has since grown to more than 150 colonies across 10 sites on the airport property.

The irony? More bees has led to fewer problems. “They used to get 10 to 12 swarm incidents a year,” Repasky says. “Now it’s one or two. We’ve basically created a pollinator buffer zone.” The team even places baited “swarm traps” around the perimeter of the air operations area to short-stop wild bees before they ever reach a runway.

The airport’s land has proved ideal. Only about a quarter of it is devoted to aviation. The rest — creek beds, patches of forest, scrub fields — remains undeveloped and pesticide-free, offering what Repasky calls “a pollinator haven.”

Through his one-man company, Meadow Sweet Apiaries, Repasky manages the airport colonies while overseeing nearly 200 others around the region. He also co-owns a pest-control business, has served as president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association, sits on the board of the American Beekeeping Federation, and breeds hardy “survivor stock” queens adapted to Western Pennsylvania’s winters and erratic foraging seasons.

It’s a lot of hats for one person, but if anyone is suited to orchestrating a complex, interdependent system, it’s a beekeeper.

“There’s this myth that the queen bee runs everything,” Repasky says. “But really, it’s the 20,000 female worker bees who run the show.” In that sense, he adds, a beehive isn’t so different from a city: it hums with purpose, responds to stress, and thrives only through interdependence.

Pittsburgh City Paper spoke with Repasky about what it’s like to manage bees beside an active runway, what Pittsburghers can do to protect pollinators, and how to see a swarm not as a threat, but a sign of resilience. The following interview has been lightly edited for style and length.

What were some of the early challenges of maintaining a working apiary in such an unconventional, high-security location?
The biggest challenge was finding locations that would not hinder the normal day-to-day operations of the airport and not put employees or travelers at risk. Honeybees are quite docile, but we didn’t want the locations to be in areas where the general public would have easy access to the hives and possibly mess with them. As far as security was concerned, we were focused on both the bees’ safety, and on following all protocols and security requirements for myself as a beekeeper accessing airport property. Security clearances were put in place and are always followed. In high-security areas such as the airfield, I am escorted by an airport employee authorized to be there.

How do your hives at the airport contribute to local ecosystems beyond just making honey? How is managing hives at the airport different from your other sites logistically or environmentally?
The honeybees at PIT contribute locally through pollination of not only the local flora, but many of the local gardens and farms that are in the area. Hive management is similar in many ways: treating for pests, making splits to control swarms, and so on.

The key difference is our swarm management strategy. We’ve established a swarm trapping program with bait hives placed every quarter-to half-mile around the air operations area. These intercept swarms before they get too close to air traffic. The bait hives require frequent inspection and, if successful, relocation and re-baiting. This has significantly reduced swarm interference with operations. Logistically, it mostly comes down to time. I have clearance to access all the areas where my bees are located, so, in that respect, managing the airport hives is no different from any other site.

You’ve talked about raising “survivor stock” queens. What does that mean, and why is it important for the future of beekeeping?
“Survivor stock” refers to a set of genetics that allows our bees to survive the conditions found in southwestern Pennsylvania. It does not focus on one specific trait, but rather a number of traits that gives us the best of them all. We want bees that survive the winter well, are capable of managing pests and diseases without a lot of intervention, and, of course, produce enough quality honey to support our customer base with honey sales.

Breeding for these traits is critical. Some bees are bred solely for honey, others for bee production or resistance. But in Pennsylvania, where most beekeepers are hobbyists with fewer than 10 hives, an all-around hardy bee performs better. A colony that survives winter and produces moderate honey is more valuable than one that dies after high production. Survivor stock aims to balance all these priorities without necessarily excelling in only one.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about honeybee colonies?
The biggest misconception is that honeybees need to be “saved.” We have all heard the phrase “save the bees,” and, while they are important pollinators and have faced some challenges, it’s actually our native pollinators — over 400 species in Pennsylvania — that are more at risk. Many of them are solitary bees, not colony-forming, and are often overlooked. Also, people fear honeybees, but they are quite docile and only defend themselves when provoked.

What are the bees foraging on at the airport?
The bees at the airport forage on much of the same flora as anywhere else in Western Pa. But PIT has over 6,000 acres of undeveloped green space, making it a haven for pollinators. In spring, bees forage on maples, crab apples, oaks, willows, basswood, black locust, and tulip poplar. In summer, it’s clovers, native sunflowers, honeysuckle, autumn olive, and wildflowers. Fall brings goldenrod and the invasive but nectar-rich Japanese knotweed. It’s a diverse, undisturbed landscape that supports very healthy colonies.

For someone living in a city apartment with a balcony or backyard, what are some realistic ways to support pollinators?
It can be tough to support pollinators on a large scale anywhere, but those who live in the city can do their part in a number of ways. First and foremost is to support your local beekeepers. Many of us sell our honey and other products at local farmers markets and, by purchasing honey directly from them, you are not only supporting your local beekeepers but you also know it’s going to be real honey! As we always say, “How do you know it’s real honey if you don’t know the beekeeper? Do you know your beekeeper?”

We also encourage people to plant pollinator-friendly plants and flowers to support our local pollinators. Many people do not realize that honeybees are not native to the United States, and that here in Pennsylvania we actually have over 400 native pollinators that need our help. So, plant a window box or a small pot with some native flowers that will help out bees and butterflies.

How have your bees responded to shifting weather patterns in Western Pa.?
The bees adapt well, but we do see behavior changes. Springs are arriving earlier, which triggers earlier blooming and swarming … Warmer falls with fewer blooming plants cause the bees to stay active longer, using up their winter honey stores faster. This can lead to starvation if not managed properly.

Are there any Pittsburgh neighborhoods where you’ve seen particularly strong interest in community beekeeping or pollinator planting?
Back in 2010, several of us formed Burgh Bees and built what was likely the first community apiary in the U.S. That model has since spread — community gardens now exist throughout Pittsburgh, many with pollinator habitats or bee colonies. It’s a strong and growing movement.

A lot of people fear swarms, but you’ve said they’re one of the most hopeful aspects of a hive. Can you explain why?
Swarming is how honeybees reproduce. In spring, when nectar and pollen are plentiful, a strong colony will split. The old queen leaves with 10,000 to 15,000 bees to find a new home. They often stop to rest on a tree, shrub, or even a car, which is when most people notice them. After a few hours or a day, they move on, settle in a cavity like a hollow tree, and start building a comb. Back at the original hive, the bees raise a new queen and continue their work. One thriving colony becomes two, spreading healthy genetics across the landscape.

What do you hope the public takes away when they learn that Pittsburgh International Airport is home to the largest on-site bee program in the country?
Our goal was never to be the biggest. It was to demonstrate what’s possible. Pittsburgh International is more than just an airport. It’s using land that can’t be developed for innovative environmental stewardship. The program helps the airport meet its sustainability goals while preserving pollinator habitat. It shows how even unconventional spaces can support ecological health