This kind of information creates a buzz among policy makers. New York now allows individuals to construct hives in their gardens, terraces or on the roofs of their buildings. As of March, Apis mellifera, a species of bee keener on foraging for nectar than swarming picnics, is welcome once again in the Big Apple. And New York is not the first—San Francisco and Vancouver have authorized beekeeping for many years now.

Although one hive can produce more than half a kilogram of honey a year, proponents of the reintroduction of bees in the city focus instead on the ecological importance of the measure. In rural areas, bees are in fact victims of disappearing wildflowers overrun by excessive monoculture, the harsher climate and use of pesticides. The bees find refuge in the cities, where they readily forage the flowers of parks and gardens, thus promoting the necessary pollination of plants. But does a hint of exhaust tinge the taste of honey produced by city bees? Polyfloral, their honey has, according to connoisseurs, a special taste, sometimes exotic, and the flowers used in the production of city honey are actually less polluted than in rural areas. Particularly, if the city has taken care to ban pesticides and fertilizers.

Lille

Cities across the world are luring honeybees

In England, the government introduced the Beehaus in August 2009. This plastic hive allows beginners to learn the joys of beekeeping in urban areas safely. To demonstrate just how easy it is, the public agency England behind the initiative, Natural England, has installed one on its roof. In the U.S., well ahead of New York, Chicago, taking advantage of its “Green Roofs” plan, hosted a hive on its City Hall’s towering garden.

In Paris, the roof of the Opera Garnier boasted the first hives of the capital, already in place for some time. In May 2009, the beekeeper Nicolas Giant set up two beehives on the roof of the Grand Palace, noting the economic interest of such an approach: the city bees produced 4-5 times more honey than their country cousins. City parks are relatively concentrated, and constitute veritable nectar reservoirs for bees. Today, the capital counts 200-300 hives and the region produces 500 tons of honey per year, including the famous “Concrete Honey,” produced at Saint-Denis, Ile-de-France.

Lille is proving they don’t go halfway with the city’s appointment of a deputy mayor responsible, among other things, for urban apiculture, and promoting the establishment of beehives in the city, including three on the Opera roof (photo).

Lyons’s Project Urban Bees, funded with one million euros from the EU’s Life +, pampers the city’s foragers and is leading a large-scale study on how to improve their living conditions in the heart of city.

The legality of urban beekeeping

In France the practice is governed by the Rural Code, which prohibits the installation of hives within 25 m of a school or hospital and requires the hive to have a protective hedge at least two meters high.

In New York, individuals must keep authorities in the loop, but no license is required. The budding beekeepers must respect certain principles of urban cohabitation- bees raised under the best conditions.

Already well into the international year of biodiversity, cities have the opportunity to contribute to the repopulation of bees around the globe. And reintroduce a bit of nature to the city.

Rooftop bees in New York

Translated by Genny Cortinovis

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