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by JUSTIN DEHN

While checking out the trees along U.S. 183 near Austin’s airport, environmental analysts for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority came across something they didn’t expect – a giant beehive. An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 honeybees live in the oak tree right off the highway, which the mobility authority has been studying for possible roadway improvements.

The honeybee population has been in steep decline. So the agency hired local beekeeper Randy Oakley to help. On Tuesday, reporters watched as Oakley examined the decoy beehive he created to lure the bees out of the tree. Once the bees have fully migrated to the decoy, which takes a few weeks, Oakley will move them to an apiary near Robinson.

JUSTIN DEHN reports for The Texas Tribune where this story was originally published. It is reprinted here through a news partnership between the Tribune and the San Marcos Mercury.