MINNEAPOLIS—Radisson Blu Mall of America has officially housed honey bee colonies from the University of Minnesota Bee Squad.
Inspired by Dr. Marla Spivak at the University of Minnesota Bee Lab, the Bee Squad helps beekeepers and the community in the Twin Cities area foster healthy bee populations and pollinate landscapes through education and hands-on mentorship.
Without the pollinating services bees provide, there would be serious challenges in the production of many common foods as 35% of global food supply and more than 80% of flowering plants are dependent on animal pollination, according to Carlson Rezidor.
The Bee Squad delivered two honey bee colonies to Radisson Blu Mall of America each with about 10,000 honey bees per colony that live on the hotel’s roof. The colonies will continue to grow all summer until there are about 40,000–50,000 honey bees per colony. In the spring, the Bee Squad will divide each of the original two colonies into two additional colonies.
The first year, the honey bees build their nest, and in the second they will begin to produce more honey. The Bee Squad will only remove surplus honey from the colonies, which will be used on-site in FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar by Executive Chef Paul Lynch.
“Bees play such an important role in pollinating plants that it is very important we do what we can to help the species and provide them with a healthy environment in which they can thrive,” said Lynch. “Using locally sourced ingredients is at the heart of what we do at FireLake, so once the honey is ready, we will incorporate this into dishes on our menu allowing us to add even more local flavor.”
With many bees becoming threatened over recent years, the Bee Squad is committed to bringing back a bee-friendly world by educating, training and assisting people engaged in helping bees thrive, according to the group. Since 2006, approximately one out of every three honey bee colonies die each winter. This is because of disease and poor honey bee health due to pesticides in the environment. The Bee Squad visits each Bee Squad hive every two weeks to monitor the health of the honey bees and collect data that is then used to find trends and solutions to health issues the honey bees face.