Bentley Motors, already famous for over one hundred years for their car models with the “flying B” emblem on the hood, has created a buzz with their new “flying bees” – 120,000 British honey bees (Apis m. mellifera) to be precise. The hives are on grasslands at the edge of their 80-year old historic factory grounds at Crewe, Cheshire, England, where 4,000 people work.
The two hives produced an impressive honey harvest of 100 jars at the end of the summer. Bentley’s local beekeepers extracted the honeycomb frames from the hives. They were spun in the extractor, then the honey was drained and filtered.
This 2:17 minute video by Sky UAE Autos is called: Flying Bee: Bentley bees are making honey.
Bentley is a luxury car manufacturer in the UK, known for its attention to detail. The honey is receiving the royal treatment, with the jars, label and packaging designed by the company’s interior designer Louise McCallum.
The beehives are one of Bentley’s local biodiversity initiatives. In other such projects they installed the UK’s largest car park solar system. This means that all the electricity they use is either solar or certified green. Bentley’s goal is to become the most sustainable luxury automobile manufacturer. They are constantly seeking ways to improve their environmental footprint and become a carbon neutral operation.
According to Peter Bosch, Bentley’s Board Member for Manufacturing, the beekeepers have seen the bees returning to home base with a wide variety of pollens from the bee-friendly wildflowers planted on their site as well as from local lands nearby.
The first honey harvest indicated that the bees are thriving and the habitat seems perfect for their wellbeing, so they may add more hives for increased honey production. This is good news since bee populations are in decline in the UK.
This 5:42-minute slow-motion video of Bentley honey bees is by John Tunnicliffe, showing busy bees rushing to bring home their pollen before the weather breaks. This may or may not refer to "the" Bentley bees but the music is great either way and the bees are magnificent to watch:
The Bentley “flying bees” are monitored every week by the local beekeepers who bred them and who have more than 50 years of experience in beekeeping.
Bentley Motors in the most coveted luxury car brand in the world and from the sounds of it the quality of the honey they produce is just as rare. But don’t get your hopes up too high, so far the honey will only be available to some employees and the company’s VIP guests and clientele.