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Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve exhibits nearly 30K working honeybees

Posted at 7:43 PM, Sep 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-09-04 22:43:23-04

HENDERSON (KTNV) — A unique honeybee hive is on display at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

It's a somewhat of a small workspace but the bumblebees are busy at work.

"There are about 20,000 to 30,000 ," says Chuck Ashby, the outdoor recreation supervisor for the city of Henderson.


The important keyword is “preserve,” especially when it comes to honeybees.

"They're becoming less and less populated around the valley and around the world," Ashby says.

Nowadays, instead of killing them, LV Bees, a no-kill removal service has been re-homing them since March.

They're the only insect that produces food that the humans still eat."

While the bees are hard at work, employees at the preserve have two goals in mind.

"To educate the youth to not kill them. So, they can continue producing food and pollinating everything," Ashby says.

But these bees, enclosed behind glass, aren't the only ones being kept alive.

About 300 yards from the preserve there are 21 beehives that visitors do not have access to for public safety.

"The public worries they might sting them," Ashby says.

Ashby tells 13 Action News nearly half a million bees are living on the remote side of the preserve.

Plants and trees were planted around the preserve to keep them busy, pollinating.

"It gives them fresh flowers regularly for them to keep pollinating and producing."

The honey makers were rescued from city parks and people's homes. Ashby says bees have no desire to sting you since a sting “is a death sentence to the bee itself."

If you see a hive instead of having it sprayed, you can keep the bees alive with a call to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. They safely remove them and sell their honey.