Honey Harvest Underway For Chicago's Urban Beekeepers

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Tuesday was honey harvest day on the roof of Prudential Plaza, right outside WBBM's newsroom.

We told you a couple of months ago about the 200,000 bees that moved in. Four hives, each with two boxes.

Now, beekeepers have taken top boxes away to consolidate each colony for the winter.

They have harvested a total of about 60 kilos of honey.

The loss of which does not bother the bees, says Shelby Schulman, urban beekeeping team director for Alveole.

"Right now, they're probably like, 'The sun is shining. It's gorgeous outside. Goldenrod is in bloom.  I need to go down to Lake Shore Drive to go find all of the goldenrod that I possibly can to bring back home."

WBBM: But they're also probably thinking, 'What happened to my second floor?'

"Yeah, they probably are (thinking) 'I just stored so much honey in my pantry. Where has it all gone?' But realistically, inside of this box, they have plenty of resources. We leave them with pollen frames and honey frames so they're able to have access to everyone they need."

Schulman said she and other beekeepers will be back in about three weeks, bearing honey for Prudential Plaza.