While waiting on line at the supermarket I noticed a woman ahead of me buying a bag of flour and a rather large bag of sugar. Clearly she was going to be baking, so I asked her. "Not at all. I'm a beekeeper and the sugar is for my bees." I learned then that beekeeping is flourishing in NYC! In March of last year NYC made beekeeping legal! Previously, bees had been classified as a prohibited, "wild animal." See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/bFakjw
New York Times article: “The number of bees has been falling since the end of World War II, when farmers stopped rotating crops with clover, a good pollen source for bees, and started using fertilizers. Pesticides and herbicides became common as well. In cities, native plants were ripped out in favor of exotic ones that were not good for bees. Then, four years ago, honey bee colonies mysteriously started to die around the country. This drop-off, called colony collapse disorder, added to the mounting health problems, like mites and diseases, that bees are facing…”
New York Times article: “The number of bees has been falling since the end of World War II, when farmers stopped rotating crops with clover, a good pollen source for bees, and started using fertilizers. Pesticides and herbicides became common as well. In cities, native plants were ripped out in favor of exotic ones that were not good for bees. Then, four years ago, honey bee colonies mysteriously started to die around the country. This drop-off, called colony collapse disorder, added to the mounting health problems, like mites and diseases, that bees are facing…”
“We don’t know the primary cause, but we know the combination of poor nutrition, heavy pesticide use and bee diseases have put bees into a tailspin,” said Marla Spivak, an entomology professor at the Univ. of Minn. and a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant for her work on honey-bee health.
Whatever the cause of colony collapse disorder, “People want to feel that they are doing something to help,” said Dave Mendes, president of the American Beekeeping Federation in Atlanta. “Having a few beehives in your backyard can make you feel better.” “
A local fellow, here in the city, collected 40 lbs. of honey recently with only two hives!! Not a bad hobby! So I made a small donation to the beekeepers of New York and wait excitedly for the invitation to come to a nearby rooftop and taste the first honey of the season.
As per New York City Beekeepers Association NYC has "1,093 Beekeepers and Beelovers" registered.
Hey honey, even the White House maintains hives!
