A community of bees based at Caerphilly County Borough Council’s headquarters have produced around 50lb of honey in their first year.
The 80,000 resident honeybees have created a buzz in the year since they were moved to the grounds of Penallta House in Tredomen last August by pollinating the surrounding plants and producing honey – which is sold at the council building.
The council is working with the Sirhowy Valley Honeybee Company to increase the bee population across the borough.
The honeybees are being relocated to the roof of the Penallta House, and will fly up to three miles away from the hive to visit around 3,000 flowers in a single day to collect nectar.
Cllr Barbara Jones, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Governance said: “These important pollinators are a vital link within the food chain, as one third of the food eaten would not be available without bees.
“Re-locating them to the roof of Penallta House will provide an even better location to forage from, as well as being safe and secure.”
A good initiative as bees are under threat. I am happy to congratulate the council on this one.