Bees are an important part of our ecosystem – in fact, they’re a part of almost every ecosystem across the world. Bees are responsible for the pollination of most fruit and veg, making them an essential part of our survival.
Here are some fun facts about bees that might surprise you...
- All worker bees are female.
- Without bees, it would cost farmers £1.8 billion a year to pollinate our crops.
- A type of flower the bees take their nectar from determines the honey’s flavour.
- Bees are responsible for pollinating more than three-quarters of the UK’s wildflowers.
- Bees love blue/purple flowers like lavender and rosemary.
- Honey has many health benefits, both when eaten and applied to the skin.
Bees are fascinating creatures - these statistics highlight how important our fuzzy little friends are, and how their pollination supports our ecosystem.
What can I do to help save the bees?
With so many factors stacked against bees, it can be distressing to think of the future of bees and our local ecosystems. Fortunately, there are a number of small things you can do to help support your local ecosystem and help your local bee community thrive.
1. Plant Bee Friendly Flowers
Planting flowers are an easy yet effective way to support your local bees. These are just a few of the most popular flowers:
- Lavender
- Bluebell
- Honeysuckle
- Foxglove
- Lilac
- Common poppy
- Clovers
- Greater Knapweed
Flowers are an essential part of the pollination process, as well as providing bees with delicious nectar to keep their energy levels up.
2. Build Homes for Bees
Whether you buy them ready-made or make them yourself at home, insect homes are a great way to support your local pollinators! Bee houses are typically made of hollow reeds or tubes, and are the perfect environment for hole-nesting bees.
Here at Really Wild Bird Food, we have a wide range of insect homes that make it easy for you to do your bit for the local ecosystem. Whether you’re interested in buying a finished bee home or are looking for bee home building materials such as nesting tubes or nesting hay, we’ve got what you need!
Browse Insect Homes
3. Support Local Beekeepers
If you have a local beekeeper, support them in any way you can. Whether that involves switching from store-brought honey to local honey, or sharing awareness on social media, every little helps!
4. Encourage Bees to Visit
If your garden is a bee friendly environment, you can encourage bees to come and nest in your garden in a number of ways. We’ve already discussed the appeal of bee homes and planting attractive flowers, but if you’re still struggling to encourage bees to come and nest in your garden, you may benefit from using an attractor pack.
Attractor packs are carefully selected wildflower seeds, designed specifically to encourage the attention of bees and support their conservation. If you’d like to take a look at some of the attractor packs available from Really Wild Bird Food, check out the link below!
Attractor Packs
5. Treat tired bees
If you notice a bee in your home or garden is looking tired, you can leave out some sugary water for it to drink. Simply mix one part water with two parts white granulated sugar. Make sure you don’t use any other type of sugar. Some tasty sugar water can save bees who can’t find nectar to feed themselves.
Why Are Bees Dying?
There are a number of different factors contributing to the decline of bee populations in the UK.
One of the biggest causes of bee decline is the increased use of pesticides. A specific type of pesticide called neonicotinoids are particularly guilty as they have a pretty severe negative impact on wild bees. These types of pesticides are technically banned in the UK, but some exemptions are being made for big businesses and their large-scale farming.
Another large factor in bee decline is the loss of habitat. Since the 1940s we’ve lost 97% of our wildflower meadows, leaving bees with very little natural habitat. In recent years there have been efforts by government figures to try and restore these types of environments, but government statistics show that only 6% of protected habitats are in “favourable condition”.
We can’t talk about bee decline without talking about the obvious culprit – climate change. With climate change making our winters warmer and wetter, these changes are confusing the bees, resulting in some species being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unusual weather activity also results in events such as ‘false spring’, where the flowers start to bloom early because they think spring has come, only to get caught in a cold snap and die. These events have knock on effects for bees, leaving them with limited resources for nectar and pollen.
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Bees are an essential contributor to local pollination and an essential supporter of natural biodiversity. If you have any further questions on how you can support your local bees, reach out and contact us today. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have!
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READ MORE: Plants That Attract Bees
