Whats the buzz about South Jersey fire departments latest un-bee-lievable animal rescue?
MILLVILLE - About 10,000 honey bees rescued from a fire-ravaged property here are relocated and living the sweet life in Gloucester County. Weve done cats out of trees, weve done ducks out of storm sewers, this is the first time for bees, Millville Fire Chief Michael Lippincott said. Firefighters swarmed a Wheaton Avenue industrial property when an early morning, two-alarm fire broke out June 8 at a warehouse, according to the Millville Fire Department. As the sun came up, fire Capt. Christine Tonetta mentioned to her chief that shed noticed a large number of bees buzzing about a hive tucked within some pallets. With bees a keen interest of hers, Tonetta was put in charge of caring for them. She called in apiarists while other firefighters worked with heavy equipment and focused on hot spots. We tried to make sure we coordinated the effort so they could get the bees out before we worked on that end of the building, Lippincott said. 'Didn't know what to do': Man shopping for groceries finds his car swarming with 15,000 bees  On Tuesday, the Millville Fire Department posted a public thank you to beekeepers Meghan McConnell, Al Pustizzi, and Bill Lore for coming to the bees rescue. For Pustizzi, it was the first time he was first-responders first responder. Im a 68-year-old, who did a little beekeeping when I was 10 years ago, and Im back at it again, he said, when contacted Tuesday. It was an all-hands effort. The bees had built their hive in between the pallets, Pustizzi, said. They had established their home there.  Smoke is usually used to calm bees, but Pustizzi said he couldnt be sure if that was the case at the fire scene. They allowed us to work with them without trying to sting us, he said, adding honeybees are rather docile.  The hive was reassembled at Pustizzi Farm in Franklin Township and displaced bees returned to the nest. In round numbers, there are 10,000 bees in a hive, Pustizzi said. They are settling in; I examined them yesterday." Initially, rescuers used wire ties as a temporary fix to hold the honeycomb within the frames. I cut the wire ties loose, he said, adding the bees patched up their own house.  The buzz: This shore hospital has 100,000 bees on its roof  It appears the bees plan to stay put. They had a little trauma there with the fire, Pustizzi said. Their home was cut apart; imagine these things coming in picking off your ceiling and relocating all your babies stacked away.  They are doing well," he said. "They have brood and eggs, which means the queen is laying and thats a good thing." Pustizzi is supplementing their feed to help the colony reestablish itself. The bees are also frequent visitors to a neighboring farm where they are stealing the nectar and pollen from the cilantro, he said. Even though its just one hive and there many thousands in the state, it was a good outcome from a bad situation, he said. Honey bees are critical to food cycle. They say about one third of the food we eat is directly impacted by honey bees, Pustizzi said. There are some things we just cant raise without honeybees.  Thousands of beehives, including those from New Jersey, are shipped to California each year to help pollinate almonds. There is no other way to make the crop work, said the beekeeper. Conservationists are working to save honey bees with their populations decimated over the past 20 years by varroa mites. They dont just survive on their own anymore," Pustizzi said, adding they almost always need a human helping hand. That brings Pustizzi to the decision of what to do with the first honey produced by the newest addition to the dozen hives at his farm. Ive been thinking about that, he said. Because of the nature of honey bees, it wont be probably until next year that theyll produce a jar of honey.  But it is earmarked for Tonetta, he said, as a token of appreciation for her bee-kind effort. Deborah M. Marko covers breaking news, public safety, and education for The Daily Journal, Courier-Post and Burlington County Times. Call 856-563-5256 or email dmarko@gannettnj.com. Follow on Twitter: @dmarko_dj Instagram: deb.marko.dj Help support local journalism with a subscription.