Last week , the world watched with a gaping oral fissure as ablaze rend through the Notre Damein Paris , France . While the cathedral ’s cross - molded roof has been largely ruin and its iconic spire has fallen , much of the duomo deal to invalidate significant harm during the fervour . However , it was n’t just thehighly flammable Gothic architecturethat got off softly .
Since 2013 , the rooftop of the Notre Dame has been home to over 180,000 bee as part of a city - wide go-ahead to boost declining bee Book of Numbers . Against all odds , all three hives wangle to survive and appear to be revel the spring cheer once again .
" The bees are alive . Until this morning , I had had no news , ” Nicolas Geant , the Notre Dame ’s nonmigratory beekeeper , toldAFPon Thursday .
“ At first I thought that the three hive had burned but I had no info . Then I saw from orbiter images that this was not the subject and then the cathedral spokesman told me that they were going in and out of the beehive . ”
As you could see from the drone look-alike of the cathedral ceiling , the hives were a fairish length from the main ardour , however , the bees would have still been blown full of smoke .
Bees do not have lungs so they can not die from locoweed intake . or else , they breathe through a internet of tiny subway called tracheae . If you ’ve ever ascertain a apiculturist working with their hive , you ’ll know that they occasionally use weed to calm the bees down . bee mainly communicate through “ odour ” and pheromones . If a hive becomes disrupted , bees will start to pump out alarm pheromone to alarm the sleep of the beehive . However , green goddess facilitate to dissemble the pheromones anddampen the sensitivityof the bees ' antennae .
So , when the fire hit on the evening of April 15 in the Notre Dame cathedral , the rooftop bees did not empty their hive and instead became placate by the billows of smoke .
“ Instead of kill them , the CO2(from gage ) take a shit them drunk , puts them to kip , ” add Geant , speak toThe Associated Press .
“ When bees sense fire , they gorge themselves on honey and stay to protect their queen , who does n’t move . I saw how cock-a-hoop the flames were , so I like a shot think it was go to drink down the bee . Even though they were 30 meters ( ~100 feet ) lower than the top roof , the wax in the hives melting at 63 ° C ( 145.4 ° degree Fahrenheit ) . ”
