Several colonies of honeybees were removed from the long-closed De Anza Motel on Route 66 in Albuquerque, reported KRQE-TV.
The bees took up residence inside the walls and roof of the motel, a fairly common occurrence in abandoned properties. Beekeepers were able to remove the bees from De Anza, where they were given new homes at Open Space Visitors Center and the yards of other beekeepers.
Killing honeybee colonies is illegal in many states. They can indeed be a nuisance if they take up residence in the walls of a property, but in general you’ll find area beekeepers who will relocate the colony without killing the bees.
De Anza has seen two developers in recent years walk away from renovating the historic property. The City of Albuquerque is hoping to find another. NewLife Homes, which has renovated other historic Route 66 motels in the city for housing for low-income or disabled people, is said to be a possible candidate.
De Anza is at 4301 Central Ave. S.D. Hambaugh, a tourist court operator from Tucson, Ariz.; and C.G. Wallace, a Zuni Indians trader, built De Anza Motor Lodge in 1939. It closed during the 1990s, and was designated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. De Anza received brief notoriety in recent years when it was included in a scene in the acclaimed “Breaking Bad” television drama.
(Image of De Anza Motor Lodge by Debora Drower, via Flickr)