Urban bee hive for your home?

Natural England, a conservation agency sponsored by the Government, is attempting to encourage urban livers to experiment with a new kind of furry winged pet: bees.

The conversation agency aims to reverse the dwindling bee population by encouraging those with rooftops and balconies to adopt bee hives because they can offer the bees’ easy access to flowers in gardens and parks that are located nearby. Also, the agency claims that honeybees will not bother the neighbours unless pestered making them a silent loft friendly pet.

Currently, the honeybee population across the UK is suffering from a disease that has not yet been identified but is resulting in colony collapse disorder killing millions of bees. Additionally, honeybees are also affected by the varroa mite and other viruses. The combination of these problems has led the bee population to drop by 15% in just two years.

To help encourage urban dwellers to take in honeybees under their wings, so to speak, the chief scientist for Natural England, Tom Tew, created a beehive that is stylish and trendy. It looks like a coolbox with a lid that can be taken off to inspect the inside of the hive. It is also easy to clean since it is made of plastic that is specially designed to maintain the high heat of 35C that bees need in order to breed.

Bees affect the commercial crops in Britain due to their pollination methods and also produce honey which contributes about £10 to £30 million to the UK economy each year.