They forage in gardens, flower beds and balconies. Then bring the pollen back to the colony, out of sight. A few meters from the noisy bustle of the streets, thousands of honeybees have taken up residence on the roofs of French cities. From Paris to Marseille, from Toulouse to Strasbourg, we find beekeeping hives on the roofs of public buildings, communities, national monuments or companies. These urban installations, which began in 2005 with the program “sentinel bee of the environment”, have multiplied over the past ten years. “The objective was to raise awareness against the massive disappearance of pollinating insects, due to neonicotinoids and monocultures in particular. It made it possible to change the general public’s view of the bee,” says Henri Clément, spokesperson for the National Union of French Beekeeping (Unaf).
The experiment gained momentum, especially since it demonstrated that bee mortality was lower in the city, sheltered from pesticides, than in the countryside. “It worked so well that some rushed into the breach to make money,” regrets Henri Clément, referring to unscrupulous beekeepers encouraging companies to sponsor hives, for a fee, without ensuring regular monitoring. “The accesses, the ladders, it is sometimes perilous to climb on the roofs. Bees have their place in the city but, for it to work, it has to be thought out, adapted, “confirms Franck Alétru, president of the national beekeeping union (ANS).
“It was a real carnage”
However, the trend has recently been called into question due to the rapid development of the Asian hornet. This invasive bee killer, whose presence has now been reported on almost all of France, has settled permanently in certain towns where it easily finds water, food and a favorable micro-climate. The damage to urban hives would then be colossal. “When you have 20 to 40 hives gathered on the same site, as is often the case in rural areas, the bees manage to defend themselves. In town, the configuration of the premises does not allow for so many, there are generally only three to five hives. They are much more vulnerable,” explains the Unaf spokesperson. The ravages are such that more and more beekeepers prefer to remove their hives from the roofs, either permanently or when summer arrives, a period conducive to attacks.
In Nantes, one of the pioneer cities of urban beekeeping, there would not be a single one left. “We removed 45 hives in the space of two years, says Claude Jajolet, co-president of Union of Loire-Atlantique beekeepers. It was a real carnage. The hives were safe from anything. It was like serving dinner to the hornets. Our partners were disappointed to no longer have their hives but they were understanding. And we refused collaborations with partners who were less so. “Part of the hives have been moved to the countryside, another to a racing circuit. “It’s going much better. We do not regret our decision. We couldn’t let our colonies be devoured. “says Claude Jajolet.
The beekeepers’ unions are watching the situation carefully. “We obviously preferred that the hives remain all year round. But beekeepers are right to protect them. Faced with the threat, you have to adapt, ”reacts Henri Clément. “We could leave the hives in town if there was a collective plan to fight against the Asian hornet and a trapping campaign worthy of the name, complains Franck Alétru, the president of the SNA. In Nantes or Paris, the city should have stuffed all these parks and gardens with traps. The damage would be much less and it would cost less than destroying the nests. Most of the time, the problem is not taken seriously. »
Too many bees for the other insects?
As if the hornet were not enough, a study published in January 2018 in the magazine Science, subsequently confirmed by work of a researcher in French ecology carried out in Paris, suggests that the overpopulation of honeybees in cities would be harmful for other pollinating insects, in particular for wild bees, which they deprive of sufficient reserves of nectar and pollen. Cooled by the results, private partners preferred to give up lending their roofs to the hives. Cities, such as Metz and Besançon, have decided to stop the installations. Beekeepers are not convinced.
“There is no competition. It is observed that honey bees and pollinators do not necessarily visit the same species. The real problem for pollinators is the Asian hornet. We come back to him. An Asian hornet’s nest consumes 11 kg of insects, not just bees, ”says Henri Clément, the spokesperson for Unaf. “Pollinating insects are neither listed nor protected, abounds Franck Alétru. Nobody is interested in them. We remove the tree trunks and dead branches they need to settle. They are also decimated by hornets. We have to find the means to keep them, like the bees, in the city. Otherwise cities will also become a wasteland of biodiversity. »