Skyscraper apiaries: more and more New Yorkers have bees

New York may not seem like a bee-friendly place, but its multi-story rooftops and tiny gardens are teeming with small honey producers who are threatened by pesticides in the countryside. How residents of the city decided to breed bees and how to do it, the newspaper said. New York Post.

The number of urban beekeepers is growing rapidly, and now many hives are on the roofs of skyscrapers and office buildings. New York City legalized beekeeping in 2010 and has hundreds of registered hives, according to the Department of Health.

Bee populations around the world are declining sharply, in part due to excessive amounts of pesticides and chemicals in rural areas, and a lack of crop diversity.

New York City doesn't have this problem, making it a healthy bee habitat, said Alan Markowitz, a Bronx resident beekeeper at La Finca del Sur community garden.

2,4 million bees

About 2,4 million Italian bees were waiting for their time to get into their new homes on the rooftops of New York.

“This is the first year we've done this outside of Dakota,” said Andrew Cote, president of the New York City Beekeepers Association. "We've heard that New York loves honey."

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Cote, founder of Andrew's Honey, came from Georgia to deliver bees. A constant stream of beekeepers lined up to pick up their packages, which cost $ 159 or $ 205, depending on when they placed their order.

“Bees are sold by weight, like cheese,” he said.

Some shoppers stuffed bags into sacks, and Ray Sage tied two boxes of bees to his bike.

“I just need to drive very slowly and carefully,” he said.

“A third of what you put in your mouth requires pollination. And in the city, believe it or not, bees live better because there are fewer pesticides, ”said the former farmer.

How to get bees

Beekeepers must notify New York City and New York State of the hives contained in the five boroughs. The City's Health Code requires that honeybee breeders “submit to the Department a notice in a form provided or approved by the Department, including the beekeeper's name, address, telephone number, email and fax numbers, emergency contact information and the location of the hive, and they must notify the Department within ten business days of any changes to such information, ”writes Bees.

If you decide to breed bees, you can send a notification here.

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Education

The first and most important step in responsible beekeeping is education. All beekeepers should be well versed in bee biology and basic beekeeping techniques. New beekeepers are advised to complete the NYCBA Urban Beekeeper Basic Course and read at least three different beekeeping guides.

In addition, if you decide to breed little honey makers on the roof of your house, then you need to figure out how you will supply clean water there, which the bees use to control the temperature in the hive, which is essentially a vital factor for the bees.

You also need to take into account many factors, check the condition of the hive, the health of the bees and protect them from various diseases so that small honey producers do not regret moving to the city.

Details on the requirements and recommendations for beekeeping can be found at link.