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Bees in the city
A Twenty years ago, a beehive was a rare sight in central London. Today there are more than 7,000 registered hives across the city: on office roofs, in school gardens and even on top of hotels. Urban beekeeping has become fashionable, and many companies now keep bees as a way of showing that they care about the environment.
B The trend began with good intentions. Honeybees had been in the news because colonies were dying in large numbers, and many city dwellers wanted to help. Supporters also pointed out that cities can be surprisingly good places for bees. Parks, gardens and tree-lined streets contain a wide variety of flowers, and city gardeners often use fewer pesticides than large farms in the countryside.
C However, some scientists now believe the boom has gone too far. Researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, found that the number of hives in London had grown much faster than the supply of flowers. Each colony of honeybees needs a large amount of nectar and pollen, and when too many hives share the same area, there is simply not enough food. Some beekeepers in central London have reported that their hives are producing less honey than they used to.
D The greater concern, though, is for wild bees. Britain has around 270 species of bee, including bumblebees and many kinds of solitary bee, and a number of them are in decline. Unlike honeybees, wild bees are not kept by people, so they cannot be moved somewhere else when food runs short. Researchers worry that honeybees, which live in colonies of up to 50,000 insects, compete with wild species for the same flowers. There is also some evidence that diseases can spread from managed hives to wild populations.
E For these reasons, conservation groups are now advising people who want to help bees to think differently. Instead of putting a hive on the roof, they suggest planting flowers that are rich in pollen, especially ones that bloom early in spring or late in autumn, when food is hardest to find. Leaving a corner of a garden untidy, with dead wood and bare soil, gives solitary bees somewhere to nest. Some city councils have also started cutting the grass beside roads less often, which allows wild flowers to grow.
F None of this means that urban beekeeping must end. Experienced beekeepers argue that well-managed hives, in areas with plenty of flowers, cause few problems. What most experts agree on is that the number of hives should match the amount of food available. As one researcher put it, "If you want to save the bees, the first thing to do is feed them."
