How high can they fly?

[Yaworsky]

I am trying to persuade my company to keep bees on the roof of our office building. The building is probably 170 feet or so high in central London. Of course measures will need to be taken to protect against wind but what do members think about the ability of bees to operate at that height? Is there a limit?

 

[Heather]

No problem with the height- just what foraging is there around, and will a swarm be preventable!
Bees are apparently healthier in cities as less pesticide pollution.

 

[m100]

Bees are apparently healthier in cities as less pesticide pollution.

Probably true, but it has been reported that a very significant proportion of plants grown in commercial facilities for end use by consumers in their gardens are liberally dosed with neonicotinoids.

 

[thurrock bees]

bees fly at any height that is needed, i.e. if you put a 6 foot fence around the hives then the bees will fly away and return at 6 ft unless its windy. my only question would be access, geeting the bees there? swarming? and windy days?

 

[jezd]

I am trying to persuade my company to keep bees on the roof of our office building. The building is probably 170 feet or so high in central London. Of course measures will need to be taken to protect against wind but what do members think about the ability of bees to operate at that height? Is there a limit?

why?

anyway, not sure what insurance will cover you for transporting a hive of bees around a building that is 170 ft tall - worse case it split open on floor 3

anyone know how many roof top hives the city of London can support at this rate?

lol

 

[hedgerow pete]

they will be ok at 170 feet no promlems there i have seen a bee hive on the 15 floor of a block of flats once, all you have to keep an eye one is the forage, thats the biggest worry

 

[Yaworsky]

Thanks for your views everyone. At some point there must be a height threshold beyond which bees cannot operate. A lot of roof top hives in London must be around the two to three storey level, the Fortnum and Mason hives at about 5 to 6 storey; all this seems intuitively and demonstrably possible. I was interested in the 15 storey block of flats hive example. Does Hedgerow Pete know whether they thrived?

 

[hedgerow pete]

the bloke how used to keep them there did so when his back gave up and he returned his allotment, tomatoe blight does not go over the 8 floor was in his notes i read , and as for the bees i would say an average of around 20 lb of honey per season , with well tempered bees but there biggest worry/problem was wind if it was to windy there would get to fly back, this was mainly because of the wind swirling around the tower block, so he was always low on forage bees and needed quite a fast egg layer to recover from the loses, they were kept in a langstroff, double brood box and 4 supers and the honey would be harrvested as cut comb to remove the use of an extractor, the bees and the gentleman involved and the block of flats come to think of it are all long since gone, but he ideas are still used by a few people with high rised bees