Bees on the roof

High above the busy streets of Paris, on the roof of the famous opera house, there are several beehives. They have been there since the 1980s. Every summer the roof becomes a hive of activity, and the bees produce honey that is sold to visitors. It sounds strange, but city beekeeping has become popular in many places, from London to New York to Tokyo.

Why would anyone keep bees in a city? Surprisingly, cities can be good homes for bees. Parks, gardens and trees along the streets offer many different flowers. What is more, cities often use fewer chemicals than farms, where huge fields of a single crop are sprayed to kill insects. For this reason, some beekeepers say their city bees are healthier than their cousins in the countryside.

Bees matter because they carry pollen from flower to flower. Without them, many fruits and vegetables could not grow. Sadly, bee numbers have fallen in many parts of the world. This is mainly caused by disease, the loss of wild land and the use of pesticides. Many people hoped that city hives would kill two birds with one stone: produce local honey and help to solve the problem.

But is it really that simple? Not quite. Honeybees, the kind kept in hives, are only one of hundreds of bee species. Wild bees need flowers too, and when too many hives are placed in one area, the honeybees may take the lion's share of the food. In that case, more beehives can actually mean fewer bees overall.

So what can city people do to help? Many experts suggest planting flowers rather than buying hives. A window box of lavender or a few herbs on a balcony can feed many kinds of bees, not just honeybees. In the end, bees don't need more beekeepers. They need more flowers.