Urban beekeeping new city-dweller hobby

(ANSA) - Rome, January 11 - Urban beekeeping is becoming something of a trend around Italian cities, with so-called "backyard beekeepers" able to procure up to 10 kg of honey under the right conditions, while spending less than 400 euros altogether, queen been included.
    The new hobby of urban apiculture follows on the heels of other recent metropolitan trends such as terrace gardens and vertical gardens.
    Raising bees on an apartment balcony makes sense, given that the bee is the only organism in the animal kingdom that delivers a finished product ready for consumption.
    The bee is also an excellent monitor of pollution in the environment in which it lives - if it dies or swarms it indicates an ecosystem at risk - a skill that's rather handy in today's world.
    Bees are easy to raise, they have a flight range of around 8 km, and they regenerate quickly with a relatively short lifespan.
    Becoming an urban beekeeper is easy, from the traditional veiled hat to the gloves, from the balcony hive to the mini honey combs, even to classroom courses on beekeeping.
    One of the latest is being offered in Milan by Green Island in cooperation with environmental group Legambiente.
    Over a series of five lessons, future urban beekeepers will learn about the world of bees, how to manage a hive from their apartment balcony, current laws and regulations regarding urban apiculture, as well as all the necessary steps for extracting honey.