Urban Beekeeping Is Booming in Memphis — And It's Changing the City's Food System
Five years ago, a rooftop beehive in Memphis was a novelty. Today, it's practically a neighborhood amenity. Urban beekeeping has grown faster in mid-sized Southern cities than almost anywhere else in the country, and Memphis is no exception.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture registered more new urban apiaries in Shelby County in 2025 than in the previous three years combined. Community gardens from Orange Mound to Frayser are adding hives. Restaurants in the South Main Arts District are sourcing honey from rooftop colonies two blocks away. Something has shifted.
Why Urban Bees Are Thriving
It sounds counterintuitive, but cities are often better habitat for honeybees than the surrounding agricultural landscape. Urban areas typically have more diverse plantings — ornamental gardens, street trees, parks, and vacant lots that have naturalized into wildflower meadows — than monoculture farm fields. That diversity translates directly into better nutrition for bees.
Research published in 2024 by entomologists at the University of Tennessee found that urban honeybee colonies in the Memphis metro area showed higher genetic diversity and lower varroa mite loads than colonies kept in adjacent agricultural zones. The researchers attributed this partly to reduced pesticide exposure and partly to the diversity of forage available in urban neighborhoods.
Memphis Honey Is Genuinely Unique
Hyperlocal honey — honey produced by bees foraging within a few miles of where it's sold — has become a serious culinary product in Memphis. The flavor profile of Memphis urban honey reflects the city's specific botanical landscape: the sweetness of mimosa and tulip poplar in spring, the deeper notes of goldenrod and aster in fall, the subtle influence of whatever's blooming in the gardens of Cooper-Young or Vollintine-Evergreen at any given moment.
No two neighborhoods produce identical honey. That's the point. It's a product that literally cannot be made anywhere else.
The Swarm Problem That Comes With It
More urban hives means more urban swarms. When a managed colony outgrows its box, it swarms — and in a dense urban neighborhood, that swarm lands somewhere visible and alarming. Porches, car hoods, playground equipment, storefront awnings.
This is where Bees Knees Apiary comes in. We respond to swarm calls across the Memphis metro seven days a week. If you're a new urban beekeeper whose colony has swarmed, or a neighbor who's found a cluster on your fence, call us. We'll collect the swarm, and if you want, we can help you get started keeping bees yourself.
How to Get Started in Memphis
The Memphis Area Beekeepers Association offers beginner courses every spring. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture requires registration for any apiary with two or more hives — the process is straightforward and free. Start with two hives so you can compare them and learn faster. And call a professional for your first swarm capture — watching it done right is the best education you can get.
