Urban Beekeeping Rules and Challenges

Abstract

Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is the most widely grown insect species in the world and is very important both economically and ecologically. Recently, keeping honey bees in urban areas is becoming also increasingly pop-ular around the world due to many reasons such as the presence of more flowering plant diversity in parks, gardens and other green areas of urban areas compared to rural areas, and the lower risk of both pesticides and parasites in urban areas. Today, honey bee colonies are found everywhere, from the roofs and terraces of buildings in city cores to suburban backyards. While urban beekeeping practices are similar to those in suburban and rural areas, in densely populated urban environment, urban beekeepers face many challenges such as hive placement, colony management, preventing of swarming and robbing, provision of water source, human/bee interaction and bee poo. Urban beekeeping creates new concerns. Increased honey bee colony densities in cities might have negative effects on wild bee species by transmitting parasites and pathogens and by competing for nectar and pollen resources in addition to honey bee colony productivity. There is, therefore, a need for good urban beekeeping regulations to maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks. In this review, current regulations regarding urban beekeeping were addressed and some suggestions were presented to reduce complaints from city dwellers.