MC-130J transforms into a Bee-130J, momentarily embracing a buzzing identity.
Airborne Buzz: The Mysterious Honeybee Swarm on a Military Plane
Seventy years of service, multiple weapon varieties, and now, an unexpected cargo - a swarm of honeybees. The MC-130J, part of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 193rd Special Operations Wing, found itself in a buzzing predicament late last month.
The wing humorously suggested a new aircraft nickname in a video posted to Facebook, "Bee-130," as they scrambled to remove the unwanted passengers from their right side inflight air refueling pod. The man tasked with the job was none other than Jim Davis, a beekeeping enthusiast from the Central Pennsylvania-based Capital Area Beekeepers Association.
"We identified, with the help of our civil engineers, they were honeybees," said wing spokesperson Senior Master Sgt. Alexander Farver. "We knew how important honeybees are to the local ecosystem. So even though it was a slight inconvenience, we chose to protect and preserve them."
For Davis, this wasn't just another day at the office. It was his first time responding to a military base. As much as US Airmen are known for their lethal prowess, some threats require expert expertise, like a swarm of bees.
"Everyone was super friendly," Davis shared. "A few of them weren't too sure they wanted to be that close to the bees."
But how did these winged workers wind up on the aircraft in the first place? Davis hypothesized that there must have been another hive nearby.
"What happens is the original hive makes a new queen, and then the old queen normally will gather up a large bundle of the nurse bees and the foraging bees and take off with them. They find a place where they can land until the scout bees can find a home for them. If we had left them on the plane, they would have probably found a new home within a day or so."
Iowa State University provides insights into this natural process called swarming, stating it often happens in response to overcrowding within the colony. Indeed, the Pennsylvania bees had originally stopped on a maintenance stand but moved when the stand was moved, leaving some behind, which were removed by Davis, who gently brushed them into a cardboard box.
Swarming groups of bees might look intimidating when they land on trees, houses, or even cars, but these honeybees were not prepared for a fight.
"When you get a swarm like that, they are not interested in stinging or fighting or anything like that," Davis explained. "They're just taking care of their queen. I could have gone up there with bare hands and got them in the box."
Honeybees feed prior to swarming, reducing their stinging ability, and they are also farther from their nest, which houses their offspring and food stores, making them less defensive and less likely to sting.
While honeybee swarms on military aircraft don't seem to be a common occurrence, they have been spotted on other military aircraft such as a T-6 in 2012, a C-17 and an F-22 in 2016, and a few Navy P-3s in 2008 and 2009. Similarly, naval ships also require clearing stray swarms, with nine such removals documented in the San Diego, California area between 2020 and 2023.
Davis didn't let this unusual encounter go to waste. After giving the bees a new, permanent home, he shared, "They're doing great, and I hope to give some of the honey they produce to the 193rd Airmen next year!"
Back from the Brink
While honeybee swarms on military aircraft might seem like an exotic occurrence, a deeper look shows that honeybees play essential roles in ecosystems. In the last couple of decades, colony collapse disorder has threatened these vital pollinators*, leading to concern about their future. However, conservation efforts like Davis' small-scale beekeeping rescues significantly contribute to their preservation.
Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon that started in the late 2000s in which worker bees abandon their hives, leaving the queen bee and a few nurse bees behind. CCD was declared a national emergency in the United States in 2007 due to the significant impact it had on agriculture, and it continues to affect bee populations worldwide, leading researchers and beekeepers to investigate potential causes such as pesticides, parasites, diseases, nutrition deficiencies, and differential effects of climate change. (Reference: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, 2023)
- The unexpected cargo of honeybees on the MC-130J, a part of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, raises questions about the intersection of nature and military technology.
- Despite their prowess in air force operations and advanced aircraft like missile-equipped fighters, US Airmen called upon the expertise of a beekeeping enthusiast to address an unconventional threat – a swarm of bees.
- The mystery of how honeybees ended up on the military aircraft remains unresolved, but Jim Davis hypothesized that they may have come from a nearby hive.
- Honeybee swarms on military aircraft evidently do occur, and recent cases include a T-6 in 2012, a C-17 and an F-22 in 2016, and a few Navy P-3s in 2008 and 2009, signifying the need for specialized knowledge in handling such situations.
