China Southern Airlines has flown five shipments loaded in New Zealand to Vancouver via Los Angeles of live bees, 60,000 bees in total, including 18 queen bees, weighing 8.2 tonnes.
Honeybee death rates have become a huge concern across the world. Last year in Canada, the winter mortality rate rose to 29 per cent of colonies.
Temperature control was the biggest challenge in the handling process as the bees created a considerable amount of heat during carriage owing to the large number of bees in a limited space.
The airline coordinated priority loading and unloading for the bees, in addition to airborne air conditioning and speedy delivery in Vancouver, reported the Vancouver Province daily.
