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Notre Dame Cathedral fire: 180,000 bees living on cathedral roof survived fire

By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Natalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Bees that lived on a roof just under Notre Dame Cathedral’s famed rose window survived the inferno that destroyed the church’s spire earlier this week.

The cathedral had been home to three beehives, holding 60,000 bees each, located outside, above the sacristy since 2013, CNN reported.

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Nicholas Geant is the beekeeper for Notre Dame. He had waited since Monday to find out the fate of the colonies.

A crane works at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. Rebuilding Notre Dame, the 800-year-old Paris cathedral devastated by fire this week, will cost billions of dollars as architects, historians and artisans work to preserve the medieval landmark.

“I got a call from Andre Finot, the spokesman for Notre Dame, who said there were bees flying in and out of the hives which means they’re still alive!,”

Geant told CNN

. “Right after the fire I looked at the drone pictures and saw the hives weren’t burnt but there was no way of knowing if the bees had survived. Now I know there’s activity it’s a huge relief.”

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The bees would have been in danger if the fire got too close to them.

"Wax melts at 63 degrees. If the hive had reached that temperature the wax would have melted and glued the bees together. They would have all perished," Geant told CNN.

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