Urban habitats 'provide haven' for bees

[seaturtlehorsesnake]

i thought this was interesting, enough to start a topic about it! and now you are reading that topic. how about that.

bees seem to be doing... better than expected, in urban areas. the article at least indicates that there's a lot of diversity. it also sounds like the populations are the same.

http://www.bbc.com/n...onment-31359984

i wonder if this also holds true in the u.s., or other areas in the world. maybe we can all be urban honey pioneers.

[Kenemet]

It needs more study, and more local study.

The sad thing is that this isn't a glamorous thing and doesn't seem to attract a lot of money. While individuals (and sometimes governments) are interested, the realities of a workforce (you're interested in bees and concerned about the environment but meanwhile nobody's got any hard data and your boss or the company or the local politicians are screeching for you to put together reports on other things) mean that not a lot gets done.

And not a lot of it is coordinated.

It's something I'm involved with and attempting to find data and DO something (nobody's got any really good suggestions) is hair-pulling.

[Q-C]

Planting for bees and butterflies, etc certainly can't hurt. The insects are my favorite part of any garden, even if they eat a bit...and then you get the birds...nice!

[seaturtlehorsesnake]

It needs more study, and more local study.

The sad thing is that this isn't a glamorous thing and doesn't seem to attract a lot of money. While individuals (and sometimes governments) are interested, the realities of a workforce (you're interested in bees and concerned about the environment but meanwhile nobody's got any hard data and your boss or the company or the local politicians are screeching for you to put together reports on other things) mean that not a lot gets done.

And not a lot of it is coordinated.

It's something I'm involved with and attempting to find data and DO something (nobody's got any really good suggestions) is hair-pulling.

that does sound really frustrating.

if i can ask, what do you do in order to find data? i thought the article was interesting, and i've always been fascinated by bees, but i don't really know... much of anything else about this.

[rashore]

i thought this was interesting, enough to start a topic about it! and now you are reading that topic. how about that.

bees seem to be doing... better than expected, in urban areas. the article at least indicates that there's a lot of diversity. it also sounds like the populations are the same.

http://www.bbc.com/n...onment-31359984

i wonder if this also holds true in the u.s., or other areas in the world. maybe we can all be urban honey pioneers.

To the bolded- Yep, there is for sure urban beekeeping going on in the U.S., and it's been a growing trend for a few years now. Rooftop and backyard apiaries, city beekeep associations, and clubs too. And one of the oldest city apiaries dates back to 1905 in Manhattan on the roof of the A.I. Root Company, a beekeeping supplier. But there is a downside to this trend as well- some areas are seeing bees producing strange honey because they are getting their sugar/nectar from local candy manufactures. Other areas are seeing some problems because there aren't enough flowers in some urban areas to support the interest in bees, and then the bees starve.

And keep in mind that usually when articles say bees, they mean honeybees, and not other kinds of bees. Those are still around too, and are great pollinators even if they don't produce honey. And a lot of urban environments are making efforts for all the pollinators- like I know Chicago has a few pollinator habitats that I used to live by, and there are usually a lot of wild blooms year round in the emerald belt that surrounds the city and in some of the lakeshore parks.

[Cassafras]

I live in a fairly urban area but I've made a point to plant as many bee-friendly flowers and herbs as I could on my balcony and the little patch of dirt I get in front of my apartment, and I get visited by droves of honeybees on any given Spring or Summer day.

[Indiogene]

We need to raise animals and grow plants for our own food in urban areas, because having our own urban beehives as well neighborhood gardens are good, important and fun hobbies to pick up in our cities. I realize some species of animals and plants are well adapted to human habitation. Down here in the CA desert, coyotes and cougars are found getting closer to homes, they find human food waste in trash cans and drink out of swimming pools facing the mountains. And pigeons, the "rats of the bird world", are plentifully abound in developed sprawling communities worldwide. We hear much about environmental devastation humans cause to the planet...and then we realize some of the original wildlife have a skill in adaptation to their changed surroundings, fighting their way out of extinction. If you find bees in your city's trees or buildings, they were already here before man and bees learned to get along with man, we introduced and provided so many flowering shrubs or trees' pollen used to make honey in their hives.

[questionmark]

i thought this was interesting, enough to start a topic about it! and now you are reading that topic. how about that.

bees seem to be doing... better than expected, in urban areas. the article at least indicates that there's a lot of diversity. it also sounds like the populations are the same.

http://www.bbc.com/n...onment-31359984

i wonder if this also holds true in the u.s., or other areas in the world. maybe we can all be urban honey pioneers.

Well, better check your county's, city's, zoning rules first. There are even rural areas where you cannot even have chickens in your garden... never mind bees.