People living in urban areas are being urged to keep bees in their gardens, on rooftops and on balconies to help combat their shrinking population. Natural England, the government's advisor on the natural environment, wants to encourage homeowners to install their own mini hives to help with the decline of almost all of the UK's 250 species of bees. A new easy-to-use beehive called ‘beehaus' has been released today from the company Omlet. It has a contemporary design and comes in an array of colours to encourage people to purchase it. Natural England will be installing one of the hives on the roof of their headquarters in London. Because bees fly around five metres above the ground this should not cause problems for the people below, it said. Natural England has stressed that people wishing to purchase one of the hives should seek professional help from the beekeeping association to ensure they are able to look after the bees properly.
