Something to bee-lieve in: How the Notre Dame cathedral honeybees survived the fire
'They're like teddy bears!' says Sibyle Moulin, who takes care of the miracle bees on Notre Dame
When news broke that the 180,000 honeybees that lived on the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris had survived the horrific fire that destroyed the landmark's spire, roof and part of its body, a Twitter feed in Newfoundland and Labrador was suddenly abuzz.
After finding more than 40,000 bees living in her wall — and thinking at first that they were wasps needing an exterminator — CBC Newfoundland and Labrador's Carolyn Stokes fell in love with the tiny, fuzzy creatures.
They're now part of Stokes' family, living in brightly painted hives in her garden.
Her followers on Twitter first told her they were precious honeybees and not pests, and they were overjoyed to tell her about the bees on Notre Dame.
She just had to talk to the beekeeper, who was no doubt as happy as she was that they'd made it.
How do honey bees survive the winter? All the males are literally kicked out into the cold! No dudes allowed in the hive! Here’s <a href="https://twitter.com/adelaideshoney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@adelaideshoney</a> showing me how to winterize the hive & explaining how the ladies-only club keeps warm. 🐝 Backstory: <a href="https://t.co/tfKpvOnSr2">https://t.co/tfKpvOnSr2</a> <a href="https://t.co/YLarehEQcu">pic.twitter.com/YLarehEQcu</a>
—@CStokescbcIt really is a miracle, said Sibyle Moulin, a beekeeper with Beeopic. She takes care of the three hives that were on the Notre Dame Cathedral.
"Because they survived the fire, but also the water!" she said about the punishing streams from the fire hoses aimed at the massive flames reaching up from the church.
'Horrifying'
It was horrifying to watch the fire take over, Moulin said.
"I was first really shocked and without voice. When you know me, I am always talking. And it was just ... terrifying. Just being a French citizen or any citizen of the world, to see that cathedral burning was terrible."
She knew the bees were lower than the flames; the hives were kept on the roof of the sacristy, a tiny building off the main cathedral where the priests prepare for service.
"And the hot air goes up and not down."
What really worried Moulin was the possibility that the firemen would have to move the hives quickly and she wouldn't be able to oversee it. Or that the water from the hoses would knock them over.
It wasn't until the day after the fire when looking at drone pictures of the wreckage that she knew the bees were okay.
"I could see the three dots made by the roof of the hives on the top of the sacristy," she said. "And nothing in front, no melted wax! So maybe it was all okay and safe. I was very relieved, I had hope at this point."
Honeybees are like ... teddy bears?
The bees have been bunking at Notre Dame Cathedral since 2013. Beeopic founder Nicolas Geant always wanted to have bees at the church, she said.
"He wanted bees to be famous and bees to be loved in [the] city. You have to fetch the best monument ... and Notre Dame was this one."
When he asked the folks at the cathedral if it'd be okay, she says they told him: "If it's your dream, it's a good idea."
It's fine living for a honeybee at the cathedral, she said — even with all the tourists.
"They don't care about the tourists, they care about the food around. It's full of hedges, bushes garden, trees, it's a very nice place to be when you're a bee."
Moulin says she loves bees because as a social animal, they're altruistic: they pollinate not just for themselves, but for the entire ecosystem, she said.
"[And] they are cute," she said. "They are like teddy bears."