09/17/08 Honey Bees

Where have all the honey bees gone? Apparently, Tokyo. In one of the largest commercial districts of Tokyo, one which touts many of world's major consumer manufacturers and advertising agencies, an experiment in honey production is showing surprising success. That success formulates into roughly 150,000 or more honey bees making their home in and around central Tokyo. The original hive of 30,000 bees was placed on the rooftop of one of the area's main plazas in 2006, and by July, 2007 had increased in population to 150,000 bees. The honey harvested from the bees in Tokyo though stays in Tokyo, being divided out to local restaurants and shops. The experiment appears to base its success on the fact that the typical honey bee stays close to home, with a flying circumference of approximately 2 and a half miles. And although it's a highly built up commercial district it also abounds in public parks offering bee pleasing trees and foliage. Quite the model for the grow local, eat local movement around the world.