A swarm of 40,000 bees arrived over the weekend to take up residence in two specially constructed hives positioned 14 floors up on the roof of KPMG’s headquarters in Canada Square.

The installation is part of a series of programmes across London and the rest of the UK designed to reverse the decline in bee population.

Head of corporate affairs and bee champion Marianne Fallon will be hosting The Big Buzz, a special welcome event for the bees next week for staff based in Canada Square, at which KPMG’s beekeeper, Brian McCallum of Urban Bees, will give a talk about the hive and outline how people can help to ensure bee survival in our communities.

Commenting on the project, Marianne Fallon, UK head of corporate affairs at KPMG said : ‘This project is a logical next step using the green roofs which crown many of the buildings across Canary Wharf and is a great way for us to demonstrate our support for biodiversity in our local community. 90% of food worldwide is provided by just 100 crop species. 71 of these are dependent on honey bees, so the serious decline in bees in the UK is a threat to future food supplies.

‘We’re keen not only to increase the bee population here in London, but also to encourage our own staff to promote bee-friendly planting in their own gardens.’

If the bees settle down, the plan is to collect honey for KPMG’s client restaurant Fourteen.

And the bees will be hard at work - female worker bees live for 500 miles’ flying time but they will only come out of the hive when the temperature is 12C or higher.

Although no-one is allowed up to visit the bees, there is a beecam for avid bee lovers - and no doubt they might cast their shadow over the skies in Docklands as they go in hunt of pollen.