The buzz of a honey bee can be frightening to some, but beekeepers and environmentalists fear it would be scarier if the insect becomes silent. Honey bees have diminished nearly 90 percent in some areas since late 2006, but New York City vowed to help their survival, as lawmakers passed a vote to legalize beekeeping in its five boroughs.
In a vote Tuesday, New York City’s Department of Health and Hygiene amended the health code, allowing New York residents to keep hives of Apis mellifera, the common, nonaggressive honeybee, at their residence.
The untold numbers of illegal NYC apiarists, or beekeepers, are praising the reversal of Title IV of the Health Code, Article 161, Section 161.01, which classified bees as prohibited “wild animals.” The wild animal list, which classifies bees under venomous insects with hornets and wasps, also includes everything from polar bears to snapping turtles.
City residents who were caught with wild animals purposely on their properties were fined up to $2,000. Some beekeepers have been given the maximum charge, according to Daily Finance. Now, they can get their bees out of hiding.
“I am over the moon about (Tuesday’s) ruling, as are many of my friends in the New York Beekeepers Association and other beekeeping groups in the NYC area,” said Megan Paska, apiarist of Brooklyn Honey, to Daily Finance. “It’s a relief to know that we no longer have to fear being penalized for doing something we all truly believe is beneficial to our community.”
Beekeeping is especially popular among NYC apiarists, as they view the bees’ role as pollinators as essential for the quality of life in the city. New Yorkers often set up hives on rooftops, yards or community gardens as a hobby, to pollinate their plants or to earn extra income from honey, according to the New York Times. The lawbreakers often publicly flaunted their illegal actions through blogs, Twitter and online videos.
With the board’s vote, NYC apiarists can legally sell their bees’ honey, which has been named a powerful antioxidant and a relief – or possibly a cure -- for environmental allergies such as hay fever and peanut aversion.
Another benefit of turning their farming legal: saving the disappearing bee population.
“It is a good cause, and there’s some sense of morality, even if we’re not on the right side of the law,” said Sam Elchert, a 22-year-old Columbia University student, to the New York Times.
Colony Collapse Disorder, first documented in October 2006, is a phenomenon where worker bees disappear from a beehive. CCD has reduced honeybee populations between 30-90 percent in some areas. The cause of CCD is predicted as multiple biotic factors such as Varroa mites and insect diseases, migratory beekeeping and pesticide contamination.
For New Yorkers who fear a live version of a Killer Bee movie in their city, the president of the New York City Beekeepers Association says they have nothing to worry about.
“People fear that if there’s a beehive on their rooftop, they’ll be stung,” said Andrew Coté. “Honeybees are interested in water, pollen and nectar. The real danger is the skewed public perception of the danger of honeybees.”
Source:
The New York Times. “Bees in the City? New York May Let the Hives Come Out of Hiding,” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/science/earth/15bees.html?src=me&ref=general; 14 March 2010.
Daily Finance. Sweet Victory: New York City Legalizes Beekeeping” http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/sweet-victory-new-york-city-legalizes-beekeeping/19402004/; 17 March 2010.
