"There may be too many bees in the capital, the London Beekeepers Association (LBKA) has said. The association has criticised an initiative by a business group offering hives to central London firms.

InMidtown, which represents firms in Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles, said its scheme had seen a 40% increase in honey produced in the last year.

But the LBKA dismissed the project as 'bee bling' saying firms should focus their spending on planting forage.

LBKA secretary Angela Woods said: 'There are a finite number of green spaces in London. It could get to the point where the bees are not sustainable.  London's bee population is going up but honey yields in London are going down and we need to ask is it because there is not enough forage.'"


London bee numbers 'could be too high'
www.bbc.co.uk


Plant more bee forage.

"Approximately 3 million bees were found swarming around a man's Queens, N.Y., home on Wednesday night, and were confiscated --  to the relief of his neighbors.

Yi Gin Chen had beehives packed into the backyard -- about 45 hives in total, said Andrew Cote, president of the New York City Beekeepers Association. Cote said Chen, a beekeeper in his native China, had contacted the beekeepers' association earlier in the month for help with the bees because he was trying to sell his Corona, Queens, home.

Anthony Planakis, who heads bee control for the NYPD, told The New York Post of Chen's home, 'Picture 45 dogs in one apartment. It’s cruelty to the bees.'

New York City has ramped up its bee-control efforts recently. Earlier this month, Planakis -- who has been fighting stingers since 1995 -- was promoted from officer to detective by NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelley, and granted a 'bee-mobile' and other equipment, The New York Post reported."

3 million bees seized from Queens, N.Y., man's home
By Elizabeth Chuck


I like this Yi Gin Chen character.  The NYPD, on the other hand, should stay out of the beekeeping business.  Cops arrest bad guys, beekeepers handle bees.

"Felix Munk gets stung up to 20 times a day but that doesn't stop him from regularly clambering up to the roof of the Vienna Opera and other city landmarks to check on the bees living above the heads of unsuspecting music lovers and government ministers.

Munk is a member of Vienna's Stadtimker, one of a growing number of urban beekeepers' associations who are trying to encourage bees to make their homes in cities, as pesticides and crop monocultures make the countryside increasingly hostile.

Bee populations are in sharp decline around the world, under attack from a poorly understood phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, whose main causes are believed to include a virus spread by mites that feed on haemolymph - bees' 'blood'.

As well as making honey, bees are important pollinators of flowering plants, including many fruits and vegetables. A 2011 United Nations report estimated that the work of bees and other pollinators was worth 153 billion euros a year.

'Bees do very well in cities,' says Stephen Martin of the University of Sheffield, an expert on the deadly Varroa mite that has wrought destruction on honey bee colonies around the world since being exported from its native Asia in the 1960s.

'There are lots of plants and flowers in cities for bees to live on. Keeping them on rooftops is a great idea because it keeps them out of the way of people.'"

Vienna pitches urban chic to beleaguered bee colonies
By Georgina Prodhan

"Relatively few communities in the U.S. outlaw beekeeping.  However, most have 'nuisance laws' that are intended to outlaw things that most people would find objectionable, such as a barking dog or a stinky smell.  Some communities have laws that put practical constraints on beekeeping, such as limits on numbers of hives and a requirement that the beekeeper provide water for the bees. 

There will be bees in our cities and towns as long as there are nectar and pollen-producing plants.  Outlawing beekeeping tends to replace domesticated bees with wild bees, but does not make bees go away."

Backyard Beekeeping
by John Caldeira


I've never seen a beehive be as big a nuisance to as many people as a single barking dog can be.

"What would a garden – or farm – be without bees? A lot less fruitful. Honeybees account for about 80 percent of all insect pollination. Understanding bees and their needs makes it easier to help them help us.
"Favorite plants for bees include: aster, seaside daisy, lavender, California lilac, coneflowers, poppies, yarrow, cosmos, oregano, thyme, rosemary, roses, buckwheat, sage, penstemon, snapdragons, morning glories, sunflowers, tower of jewels and golden rod.
"Bees need pollen sources most of the year. If planting a bee-friendly garden, choose plants that bloom a long time. Mix several different kinds of plants to extend the bloom season from early spring until winter. Group similar plants together (ideally, in clusters 4 feet across); that makes it easier for the bees to find them."

To bee or not to bee – there's no question
– Debbie Arrington

News over the past several years would lead one to believe that there is a massive shortage of bees and that bee pollinated crops are in danger.  But here's an ABC News story about a different kind of problem... too many bees and too many beekeepers.

Bees Out of Control: Beekeeping fad blamed for recent surge of insects.

If you have a bee problem, visit me here.

"The birds and the bees are poised to get legal in Chatham County.

A revised animal control ordinance would allow county residents to keep chickens and bees in their backyards, practices that have grown popular but are not supported by current codes.

The issue surfaced last summer when zoning officials cited Wilmington Island resident Bill Lynes for keeping chickens in his backyard. Lynes pointed out that the practice was common and that if he was in violation so was celebrity chef Paula Deen, who crowed about her backyard chickens on her cooking show. Deen was then cited."

Bees, chickens soon to get more legal in Savannah, Chatham
By Mary Landers

"Living things are like water to the third power: your honeybees are not only pollinators and progenitors, they are constant explorers of the surrounding ecosystem, looking for forage and future home places and water sources and, sometimes, other bees of whom to take advantage. They are dynamic, intelligent in ways of which we continue to learn more each year, and dedicated to the pursuit of that ecological niche that will help their family grow and prosper. This means they may be tempted to swarm in your neighbor's yard, and then move into her/his attic. They might be prefer the water fountain at a park on your block. If they get into a robbing frenzy, the pheromone in the air can lead them to sting unsuspecting creatures. It is your absolute responsibility as a beekeeper to work against any such possibility, and to remediate any situation that develops, whether its your bees or not. In fact, one reason to have urban beekeepers is to make sure that some of them are around to address situations like this that do happen with feral colonies."

Beige, I think I'll Paint It Beige...
by Phang

"THE BEE'S KNEES: Honeybees have taken up residence at the Waldorf-Astoria New York, one of New York City's most famous institutions and a favorite stopover for many U.S. presidents.

DELUXE SWEET: The hotel plans to harvest its own honey and help pollinate plants in the skyscraper-heavy heart of the city, joining a mini beekeeping boom that has taken over hotel rooftops worldwide.

GOING GREEN: Beekeeping is a natural fit for hotels trying to keep up with industrywide pressure to 'go green,' whether it's retrofitting their buildings to make them energy efficient or simply adopting environmentally conscious practices."


News Summary: Posh hotels buzzing with honeybees
By The Associated Press


Speaking of hotels and honey...

This is beyond ridiculous.

"I am convinced that the backyard hobby beekeeper will be the salvation of the honey bee because large commercial beekeepers must place their hives where they face the intense use of pesticides and GMOs on large mono-culture farms. Certain commercial beekeeping practices necessary for pollination are extremely stressful for the bees. Therefore, the hobbyist beekeeper must be protected.

"That leads to what I find to be most troubling: The government control over a successful beekeeping hobbyist.

"Current law requires each of my beekeeping youth to have a state Beekeeper's License ($10 for up to 10 hives). If he or she is to sell any of his honey, he or she must also train for, and possess, a Food Handler Permit ($21 here in Iron County) and a state Cottage Food Producer License ($30). Add to that business licenses and business registration with various local and state government entities and a young 4-H beekeeper faces substantial bureaucratic obstacles to a small hobby that will likely result in a small amount of sales. The heavy level of licensing and regulation required of even a non-4-H hobbyist beekeeper who sells part of his harvest is daunting."

Honey bees and the law
by Blainenay



"Free competition – the striving for a good reputation – protects consumers better than government ever will."

The idiocy of business licensing
John Stossel