Among the many benefits of having bees on the roof—honey. Sweet, fresh, raw honey. The bees have been busy. Several times this summer, the honey they made was extracted, named (Rooftop Gold, courtesy of a curator), labeled for FDA standards, and is on sale now in the store at the MIA. Eminently giftable, it comes in 8 oz. and 12 oz. jars, for $14 and $18 respectively.
The color varies from light gold to dark bronze, depending on when it was harvested and what wildflowers the bees were sampling. Rule of thumb: if it’s lighter, it’s from earlier in the season.
Working with the bees on the roof this summer.
Good publicity for the museum? Sure. But hopefully also for the bees. As much attention as colony collapse has received in the past year, no solutions have emerged. And when bees emerge from hibernation next spring, they’ll undoubtedly face the same grim reality as before—and so will we, as Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl documented in her essay on our Dutch still lifes and the prospective end of nature. What happens when the bees go? We, or at least our diet as we know it, goes with them.
So here’s to the bees on the roof, and bees everywhere. May their honey grace our bagels, tea, bananas, and baklava for a long time to come!