Things are buzzing at BMS

Honey Bees at Home in Summit West and Paris sites

September 01, 2020

Look closely at the Bristol Myers Squibb facilities in Summit, New Jersey, and Paris and you might notice something abuzz – literally. That’s because both sites are home to thousands of honeybees, a small part of the Company’s commitment to the environment, according to Rodolphe Servais, coordinator of the Environmental Health and Safety team in Paris.

Bristol Myers Squibb facilities in Summit, New Jersey, and Paris are home to thousands of honeybees, a small part of the Company’s commitment to the environment.

The Paris site is home to four hives with approximately 45,000 bees in each hive.

“We initially put hives on the roof, but there was too much wind, and people could not see the evolution of the hives,” Servais explained. Now, the hives are kept “not too close to the occupants of the building, who can watch the bees from afar working on the life of the hives.”

At Summit West, Joe Chimento, associate director of facilities, acts as beekeeper in his free time with the help of several volunteers. He purchased the colonies as part of a research and sustainability project to enhance awareness and importance of pollinators in our environment.

A typical hive can have between 10,000 and 60,000 bees. Summit West presently has two hives.

“As stewards of large parcels of land, we are challenged to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing energy and water usage along with a reduction in waste while producing drugs and drug therapies for the patients we serve,” Chimento said.  Part of this “go-green” concept is to put back natural resources through the creation of pollinator-friendly environments.  

Chimento believes that in order to dream about the big stuff, we have to analyze the small stuff. “We dream about the universe, but we study subatomic particles to learn how the universe works. This is also true about our own environment.  Answers to some of our societal ills may be found in lower order life systems that have withstood the test of time. We just need to listen harder to hear their story.”

In today's pandemic-ridden world, a lot could be learned from the honeybee by studying how they deal with systemic bacterial, viral, and fungal infections of the colony.

Joe Chimento, Associate Director of Facilities

An analysis of how other species, especially ones that have gone mostly unchanged for thousands of years, like bees, could also hold the key to some of the cures and therapies for our patients.

So, what can we learn from bees, and how can it possibly help us improve the lives of patients?

“In today's pandemic-ridden world, a lot could be learned from the honeybee by studying how they deal with systemic bacterial, viral, and fungal infections of the colony,” Chimento said. “The behavioral mechanisms that help a colony survive could hold the key to answers about pandemics in our society.”

An analysis of how other species, especially ones that have gone mostly unchanged for thousands of years, like bees, could also hold the key to some of the cures and therapies for our patients.  

The research for uses of bees and bee byproducts for medicinal purposes, called apitherapy, “shows that some bee products may have healing properties for humans ranging from managing cholesterol and arthritis, to fighting an infection, to respiratory treatments,” Chimento explains. “To best serve our patients, we have to work in a manner that respects the environment, and that includes learning from all those we share the environment with – even bees.”

10 Sweet Facts About Honey Bees

Honey bees perform more than 80 percent of all pollination of cultivated crops.
The honey bee is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
There are over 20,000 different species of bee, found on every continent except Antarctica.
A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour.
The bees’ buzz is made by their wings which beat 11,400 times per minute.
A bee produces a teaspoon of honey (about 5 grams) in its lifetime
One bee would need to fly about 90,000 miles – three times around the globe – to make one pound of honey.
Honey bees must gather nectar from two million flowers to make one pound of honey.
The type of flower the bees take their nectar from determines the honey’s flavor.
Honey lasts an incredibly long time. Archeologists found 2000 year old honey in an Egyptian tomb that was still edible.

Things are buzzing at BMS

10 Sweet Facts About Honey Bees

related content