Which buzzing city is the place to be?

London reportedly has a higher honey bee density than anywhere else in the country.

The rising trend for urban beekeeping has led to the number of urban beehives in the capital more than doubling to over 3,500 in the last decade, with ten beehives per square kilometre.

The Tates, Fortnum & Mason, St Paul’s cathedral and the V&A are just a small selection of the landmarks getting in on the beekeeping buzz, installing hives on their rooftops and selling their own unique honey.

London’s abundant parks, acacia trees, and wild honeysuckle in railway arches provide the bees with pollen free from pesticides, including neonicotinoids - the class of agricultural chemicals linked to Colony Collapse Disorder.

The unexplained phenomenon has wiped out 10 million hives in the US alone between 2007-2013, a worrying figure considering bees pollinate 70 per cent of commercial crops worldwide.

Bob Apis, a worker bee from one of Tate Britain’s rooftop hives, said: “It’s great, we get marvellous views of the city from up here, and a great selection of plants.

“There’s some acacia trees nearby which gives our honey a really nice light, citrus flavour. I think ours is nicer than Tate Modern’s. They have lime trees so it’s more elderflowery apparently, but it’s whatever floats your boat.

“I do have to say I am getting a little concerned about overcrowding. Increasing competition from other hives is going to mean less food for us, there’s just simply not enough pollen to go around. I mean, it is a city after all, not a nature reserve, there’s a limited amount of bees it can handle.”

Each hive needs the equivalent amount of pollen provided by 1 hectare of borage, or 8.3 hectares of lavender to support itself - amounts hard to achieve in an urban space.

Bees and scientists across London urge residents to perhaps not take up bee-keeping and grow some pollinator-friendly plants instead, such as honeysuckle, rosemary and thyme.