Honey is a source of natural antioxidant compounds exerting several health-beneficial effects. Since urban beekeeping is quite common, the fear among potential consumers about the quality and the safety of honey produced exclusively in the cities is observed. However, the antioxidant properties of urban honey have not yet been tested. We described the antioxidant properties of linden honey from urban and rural areas. We analyzed the total phenolic content, DPPH^•radical scavenging activity, Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity assay, the protein content, and catalase activity. The analysis showed that all tested parameters were significantly higher in honey from rural areas than in urban samples. The differences in the obtained results are certainly not the effect of the floral composition of honey, but rather due to the location of the honeybee colonies. It seems that the consumption of honey from urban areas for health purposes should be considered.

The study aimed to verify whether urban beekeeping affects the strength of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies from urban apiaries and the variability of the crucial for their health and long-life protein—vitellogenins. For this purpose, honeybees were kept in two locations—in a city apiary on a roof in the city center and in agricultural areas. Each of the apiaries consisted of six colonies, with the sister queens artificially inseminated with semen from the same pool of drones. The bee colony strength and the variability of the vitellogenins in various tissues in foragers from both apiaries were analyzed from May to August. Here, we revealed that colonies from the urban apiary were more abundant than those from the rural apiary. We observed the compensation mechanism during periods of worker deficiency in the bee colony, which was expressed as a change in the Vgs level in the forager tissues. Using the vitellogenin level as a biomarker of the honeybee colony strength can predict the fate of colonies, especially those with low numbers. The high level of Vgs can be a candidate for bee colony depopulation biomarker.

Urban beekeeping is common and has become a permanent part of the landscape of many cities. However, there is scarce information about the health of honey bees (Apis mellifera) from apiaries in cities. Here, we present that the living environment of bees from urban apiaries is not indifferent to their total antioxidant capacity, immune system (defensin-2), and proteostasis (Hsp70). Still, the city does not always have only negative effects. Using an experimental system of genetically related bee colonies located in urban and rural environments, we found that genetic factors, environmental factors, or both impact the levels of the analyzed stress biomarkers. The response to environmental stress in the urban and rural areas was tissue-dependent and changed during the season. Our results will be valuable in discussing bee welfare in cities.