Beehive relocated from museum Published Feb. 12, 2009 By Wayne Crenshaw 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The long-retired Cochran Field Control Tower at the Museum of Aviation recently buzzed with activity once again. Although originally intended to be open so visitors could climb the stairs into the tower, it has mostly been closed due to safety concerns since 1986, when it was relocated from Macon Regional Airport, formerly Cochran Field. But the tower has been the home of a honey-bee hive for at least a couple of years, said Museum Director Ken Emery. Some thought was given to simply having an exterminator come in and kill the bees, but honey bees are vitally important because they pollinate many food crops. Yet the bees' numbers have been declining due to what is referred to as "colony collapse disorder." The exact cause is uncertain and may be the result of several factors, said Steve Nofs, a beekeeper who works at Robins as an engineering maintenance supervisor. For those reasons, Mr. Emery said, he decided rather than exterminate the bees, it would be better to have Mr. Nofs come in and relocate the hive. That is why on Feb. 6, Mr. Nofs donned his beekeeping suit, climbed the steps into the tower and retrieved the hive, a process that took about two hours. He cut out part of the wall, revealing honeycomb, and shortly thereafter, bees began swarming into the control room. He retrieved over 70 pounds of honey. "It was five times bigger than I was expecting," he said later. "This one was just going gang busters." He used a modified shop vac to vacuum the bees, placing the honeycomb into another container. He later put the honeycomb in a hive box and released the bees into the box. The hive is now among 25 other hives he keeps. The fact the hive has been able to thrive in the wild without assistance from man makes it important to the improvement of genetics in honey bees, he said. He didn't take any of the honey for consumption, in part because it was in a plaster wall. But it's also because moving the honeycomb with the beehive eases the stress for the bees because otherwise they would have to make it all over again. "If you can save them the trouble, that's best," he said. Mr. Nofs heads the local chapter of the Heart of Georgia Beekeep-ers Association. On Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the old courthouse in downtown Perry, he will teach a beekeeping class for beginners. The class is free, he said, and is being held to encourage people to keep bees and help restore the bee population. Anyone interested in attending can call Mr. Nofs at 396-0712. Mr. Emery said with the bees removed, he would like to once again explore the possibility of opening the tower. One possibility is to remove the top part and put it in one of the hangers so that it would be safer and easier for people to enter, he said.