The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes’ Newest Addition: Beehives
A new addition to The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove is creating, well, quite a buzz.
The Shoppes has partnered with urban beekeeping company Alvéole to install and maintain two hives that are now home to thousands of honeybees.
The hives are located on the north side of The Shoppes near the Cycle Gear store. The honeybees will stay at the location year-round.
“This is their home. This is where they’ll be foraging,” said Payton Kruse, beekeeper with Alvéole. “They’ll go anywhere from three to five miles around here looking for flowers and water sources.”
Kruse said during the winter, the honeybees stay huddled together to keep their hive at an approximately 98-degree temperature.
The Shoppes decided on the partnership as a way to increase awareness to pollinators and sustainability measures.
“I think that this just can be a very casual learning experience,” said Kruse. “People just walking through or ‘hey, I got to go get a new tire for my bike’ or ‘I want to get a bite at Portillo’s’ and they just stop and they see this. It’s just an introduction to the bigger world around them, rather than just what we see on the streets or in our four walls at home.”
Experts say bee populations have been in decline due to a wide range of stressors, including pesticides, land development and climate change, citing years of research.
The two hives will house approximately 5,000 to 50,000 honeybees. They begin to venture out their hives when temperatures are above 50 degrees, said Kruse.
The community is invited to learn more about the bees at a special event at 11 a.m. in the store space across from H&M. The beekeeper for The Shoppes will be available to answer questions.
Beekeeper Payton Kruse shows off the honeybees in Maple Grove.
Also See: Backyard Birds & Bees: Plymouth Says Yes to Chickens, No to Bees
