Beehives are busy taking over South Florida, and that’s good news

The beehive is making a comeback.

And we’re not talking hairstyles. We’re talking real honeybees.

Experts have sounded the alarm in recent years about a dramatic decline in the nation’s bee population — and Broward County has heard the cry.

Towns from Davie to Deerfield Beach are setting up micro apiaries on public land, doing their part to help save the world’s top pollinator. Plans are also under way to eventually take the beekeeping mission to Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, says John Coldwell, president of The Urban Beekeepers and one of the guys behind the trend.

In Miami-Dade, 202 registered beekeepers manage 14,268 hives. And in Palm Beach County, 235 beekeepers manage 43,002 hives.

The numbers are much lower in Broward, where 180 beekeepers manage 3,269 hives.

“Broward doesn’t have any place to put bees,” Coldwell said.

And that’s why finding government land makes perfect sense, he said.

Three more public apiaries are in the works in Parkland, Pompano Beach and Plantation, Coldwell said. And he’s also scouting for spots in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale.

To request a tour, contact John Coldwell through The Urban Beekeepers website at https://theurbanbeekeepers.com/.

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554. Find her on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan.

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