More than honey – cities need a bee strategy

The article reflects the personal opinions of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the position of SCNAT.

Honeybees are domesticated animals – bred and cared for by humans for centuries. They pollinate crops and make a significant contribution to the production of fruit and vegetables in agricultural areas. In cities, however, the rapid growth of beekeeping is becoming a problem and poses a threat to both honeybees and wild bees. In Zurich, for instance, the number of beehives has risen from 900 to over 1200 since 2014, whilst in Berlin it has tripled since 2005. A single beehive is home to tens of thousands of bees. One reason for the boom is based on a misconception: that honeybee populations are declining and need to be supported. This is not the case either in Europe or globally.

Too many honeybees, too few forage plants

Bee specialists, conservationists and beekeeping associations are concerned about this largely unregulated increase. Experts we interviewed emphasise that bees in urban areas are exposed to various stress factors. For example, they often cannot find enough flowers, meaning that honeybees and wild bees compete for the scarce pollen and nectar available as food. Added to this is the fact that the nutritional value of some of the cultivated urban plants may be of low quality. Where there is a high density of honeybee colonies, diseases such as varroosis, transmitted by the Varroa mite, spread more easily. If beehives are located in heavily built-up areas or on rooftops, the insects suffer from air pollution and heat. Experts identified potential for conflict in the resource demands of beekeepers: most hobby beekeepers have only a few colonies, which together require a small proportion of the available food supply. On the other hand, there are a reduced number of commercial beekeepers, with many colonies that require a large proportion of the food resources.

Studies by beekeepers’ associations in London and Berlin show that, at least in densely built-up areas, there are too many honeybees for the available forage plants. Some cities have therefore begun to regulate beekeeping. In 2020, for instance, Oslo introduced zones where the number of beehives is limited to prevent overcrowding and protect wild bees. In 2025, Zurich banned new beehives on the city’s properties for the same reasons.

A coordinated approach is needed

In our view, rather than isolated initiatives, cities need a bee strategy that is scientifically sound and fair to all stakeholders. This should be developed by urban beekeeping associations and local authorities in collaboration with key stakeholders such as beekeepers and scientists. We propose the following measures, which should be incorporated into such a strategy:

1. The density of beehives in towns and cities should be limited to a sustainable level based on clear criteria. These criteria must be determined on the basis of sound scientific evidence, such as that currently being compiled by Agroscope’s Centre for Bee Research. The hives and their locations should be registered and the information kept up to date and publicly available. Where their density is too high, the number of hives or beekeepers should be reduced. There is a need for regulation of commercial honey producers and of companies that rent out beehives to businesses or schools. The urban beekeeping associations can also encourage beekeepers to keep hives collectively rather than owning them individually. Such measures should be fair and should not favour or disadvantage particular groups. Above all, however, they must be for the welfare of all bees.
2. The supply of pollen and nectar should be improved by growing more native pollinator-friendly plants in gardens and on green spaces. There are significant gaps in our knowledge regarding the abundance of forage plants for bees in cities and the quality of their nutritional value. Vegetation and nutritional values should therefore be monitored. Habitat maps such as those produced by the WSL should be supplemented with this kind of information.
3. The keeping of honeybees in urban areas with high levels of air pollution and heat stress, as well as in areas that are particularly important for wild bees, should be restricted or prohibited. In the first case, this is for the health and welfare of honeybees; in the second, to support wild bees.
4. Beekeeping requires a high level of specialist knowledge. Beekeeping associations should strengthen the training of beekeepers. However, they need support from municipal bee expertise offices in maintaining an overview of registered beekeepers, as well as in developing and enforcing standards and certification. Finally, systematic monitoring of honeybee health is required to contain or prevent the spread of diseases. More data is generally needed on the distribution of wild bees. Fair solutions for all

To ensure that honeybees in cities remain healthy and that beekeeping does not come at the expense of wild bees, all stakeholders must work together in a coordinated manner, even if they sometimes have differing interests. Beekeepers’ associations, bee advisory services and researchers play an important mediating role in this. They keep the welfare of all pollinating insects in mind and help to find fair solutions for everyone – ideally through scientifically based bee management.

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Joan Casanelles-Abella is a postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Munich and a visiting scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). Marco Moretti heads the Conservation Biology research group at the WSL.