It's Hard to Catch Some ZZZ's

When The Closet Is Full of Bees

Author

The Déjà Digest
April 30, 2024

Background: “Mommy, there’s a monster in my closet.”

“Don’t worry, honey, monsters aren’t real. That’s just 50,000 bees living in the walls.”

For a family in North Carolina, this turned out to be the case. Their young daughter complained of hearing "monsters" in her closet, and upon investigation, the family discovered that the so-called monsters were not figments of imagination but a massive colony of over 50,000 bees! Beekeepers ultimately removed the bees and a honeycomb weighing more than 100lb.

While finding a beehive in your child's closet is undoubtedly cause for alarm, it does raise an interesting question: did you know there’s bees on the roof, too?

Deja Vu: Rooftop beekeeping in urban environments has become increasingly popular as cities look for ways to promote biodiversity and sustainability. Rooftop apiaries can be found at the Paris Opera House, the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and the Bank of England in London.

 Space Efficiency: Urban areas often lack space for traditional gardens or farming practices. Rooftops provide an underutilized space where beehives can thrive away from street-level disturbances.

 Environmental Impact: Bees play a critical role in pollinating plants. By pollinating urban gardens, parks, and balcony plants, bees help maintain and increase green spaces within the city, which is vital for ecological health and biodiversity.

  Local Honey Production: Urban beekeeping allows for the production of local honey, which can be a sustainable product for local businesses and restaurants. It also reduces the carbon footprint associated with transporting honey from rural areas to urban markets.

So for all the bees reading out there, you’re welcome on our roofs, but not in our closets.

Fact:

Paris is a pioneering city for urban beekeeping, with numerous rooftop apiaries scattered across its landscape. The Parisian air quality regulations and the variety of flowering plants available throughout the city contribute to the success and proliferation of urban beekeeping.

 The Opera Garnier: One of the most famous rooftop apiaries in Paris is located on the roof of the Opera Garnier. Established in the early 1980s, these hives have been producing honey for decades. The opera house sells the honey in its gift shop, and it’s known for its unique flavor, derived from the diverse urban flora.

  The Musée d'Orsay: The bees help pollinate the museum's gardens as well as the nearby Tuileries Gardens, contributing to the health of local green spaces.

 The Grand Palais: These bees aid in pollinating the flowers of the Champs-Élysées and other nearby areas.

  Montparnasse Tower: A modern addition to the Parisian skyline, Montparnasse Tower, also boasts several beehives.

Numbers:

20-60 pounds: A single rooftop hive can produce anywhere from 20 to 60 pounds of honey annually.

5 miles: Bees from a single hive can pollinate an area up to 5 miles from their base

50,000: A typical beehive on a rooftop can house about 50,000 during the peak season.

Word: Skep

A skep is a traditional beehives made from coiled straw or similar natural materials. They have a distinctive rounded, basket-like shape, their use dates back at least to the Middle Ages in Europe.

They were the predominant type of beehive until the invention of the modern movable-frame hive by Lorenzo L. Langstroth in the 1850s.

In most of the world, the use of skeps for beekeeping is restricted or no longer common due to their inefficiency and the inability to manage bee diseases effectively. Modern beekeeping regulations often require the use of hives that allow for inspection and management of the bee colony.

Profile: L.L Langstroth (1810-1895)

Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, born on December 25, 1810, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is often hailed as the "father of American beekeeping." He revolutionized beekeeping with his 1851 invention of the movable-frame beehive, a design that remains the standard for modern beekeeping globally.

Langstroth's most significant contribution to beekeeping was his identification and practical application of what is known as "bee space." He discovered that a precise spacing of about 3/8 inch (approximately 9.5 mm) between the frames of a hive allowed for the free movement of bees between the combs and prevented them from sealing the frames together with propolis or joining them together with comb.

This insight led to the development of the Langstroth hive, which features movable frames that can be inspected and manipulated without destroying the bees' work.

List: Bee Our Guest

Originally published in 1853, his work constitutes the first descriptive treatise of modern bee management — its innovations allowed people to engage in actual beekeeping, rather than simply handling bee domiciles and extracting the honey. This book explains and illustrates techniques still employed 150 years later.